Fabrication and characterizations of a polymer hybrid OA/MA/St-TiO2

A nano-hybrid composite of octadecyl acrylate/maleic anhydride/styrene (OA/MA/St) encapsulating nano-TiO₂ with an average particle size of 30-60 nm was fabricated based on chemical modification of nanotitania. The polymer hybrid OA/MA/St-TiO₂ and nano-TiO₂ were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), static contact angle (CA) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM). FT-IR spectra and TGA results suggest that the copolymer OA/MA/St adheres on the surface of nano-TiO₂ through physical adsorption and chemical bonding. The calculated reacted OH surface density is about 0.6 OH/nm², and the modification efficiency is approximately 27.28%. In addition, when the molar ratio of OA/MA/St is 7:2:1, the hybrid shows the strongest hydrophobicity, and its static contact angle reaches as high as 146°. TEM image of the hybrid OA/MA/St-TiO₂ reveals that the modified particles have good dispersibility and compatibility with n-hexane.