The role of polymer particles on the structure and compressive strength properties of silica-polybutadiene hybrid aerogels

Silica-polybutadiene hybrid aerogels were synthesized by basic co-condensation of acidic hydrolyzed tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and silane modified polybutadiene latex particles (30 wt%) followed by drying in ambient pressure conditions. To evaluate the effect of polymer particle properties on the structure and compressive properties of silicapolybutadiene hybrid aerogels, two grades of polybutadiene latex (with slight difference in degree of unsaturation) with different particle sizes (~ 90 and 300 nm) were modified with sulfidosilane moieties. The microstructure of the synthesized aerogels was characterized by the density and porosity measurement, nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the mechanical properties were investigated by compression stress-strain tests. The rubber particle properties such as pH of latex, degree of unsaturation and particle size diameters are the most important parameters can affect the mechanical properties of these aerogels. In this study, it was indicated that the changes of polymer latex particles could result in a structure with rather large colloidal particles and large surface area which would be along with an enhancement in the compression strength of these aerogels about 3 times

Keywords:

hybrid aerogel , silica , polybutadiene , compressive strength