Elastic behavior of silica/poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposites: Nano-size effects

Elastomeric materials require the incorporation of reinforcing fillers in order to improve their mechanical properties. The enhancement of properties is very much dependent on the size and any surface modification of the reinforcing agent. It is widely accepted that the reinforcement effects are primarily due to molecular interactions of the polymeric matrix and the filler inclusions and it involves both chemical and physical interactions. Herein, we have incorporated silica nano fillers (Stober silica) into poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomeric networks. The mechanical and swelling properties of the networks were investigated as a function of filler sizes (50, 130, and 170 nm), volume fraction of the filler inclusions, and surface treatment of the particles by were analyzed to give the Mooney-Rivlin constants 2C₁ and 2C ₂. These properties were found to be dependent on the size of the nano inclusions. Thus, a nano size phenomenon had been discerned and was one of the highlights of this investigation. This phenomenon was largely attributed to the high specific surface area of the nano fillers used that leads to significant increase in the interfacial interactions. Also, and as would be expected, the properties of the polymeric networks filled with unmodified particles were different than those obtained for the polymeric networks filled with surface-modified particles. This has been primarily attributed to changes in the surface properties, and as would be expected, the elastic properties of the networks were thus shown to be strongly dependent on type and concentration.