PREPARATION OF TIO2/ PET NANOCOMPOSITES BY IN SITU POLYMERIZATION AND INVESTIGATING OF THEIR PROPERTIES

Nanocomposite materials composed of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and different loading percentage of titaniumdioxide (Titania, TiO2) nano particles were prepared by in situ polymerization. Thermal properties were evaluated for eachsample. It has been observed that presence of the nanoparticles increase the molecular weight of PET chains and it can bepostulated that it has a catalytic effect on polymerization. In comparison to pure PET, nanocomposites have a relativelyhigher Tg, lower melting temperature and higher crystallization temperature. The effect of loading percentage of titaniadoes not follow a constant trend and it can be due to agglomeration of nano particles at higher loading amounts.

Keywords:

Nanocomposite , PET , TiO2 , Crystallinity