Surface treatment of nanosilica using POSS: physicochemical and thermal characterization

New organic/inorganic hybrid fillers were obtained by chemical modification of nanosilica with selected polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (Trisilanolisobutyl POSS) and characterized afterwards. The effect of surface modification of nanosilica on its physicochemical properties, particularly hydrophobicity and dispersibility was determined. Physicochemical parameters of obtained hybrid filler were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analyses (CHN), and thermal analysis. As a result, the SiO2/POSS hybrid had better dispersion in organic solvent compared with unmodified nanosilica. Moreover, this nanofiller had higher hydrophobicity which is of importance for applications in organic coatings.