Effect of Surface Hydride, Vinyl, and Methyl Groups on Thermal Stability of Modified Silica-Divinylbenzene-Di(Methacryloyloxymethyl)Naphthalene Composites

Abstract

Divinylbenzene (DVB)-di(methacryloyloxymethyl)naphthalene (DMN)/modified silica composites were studied by means of IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that filling with modified fumed silica decreases the initial temperature of DVB-DMN copolymer thermal-oxidative degradation; however, the activation energy of this process generally increases. The partial modification of silica surface turned out to be more efficient than the total functionalization and silicas containing surface methyl in combination with hydride groups were found to be the best fillers for DVB-DMN copolymer among all those investigated.

Keywords:

• composites
• DMN
• DSC
• DVB
• modified silica
• surface groups
• TGA

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Science and Education (grant of the president of Ukraine, project GP/F11/0064).