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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Advanced Compositional Analysis of Nanoparticle-polymer Composites Using Direct Fluorescence Imaging
Published on: July 19, 2016
Synthesis and characterization of nanostructural polymer-silica composite: positron annihilation lifetime
Radosław Zaleski1, Agnieszka Kierys, Marta Grochowicz
1M. Curie-Sklodowska University, Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Methods, Lublin, Poland. radek.zaleski@umcs.lublin.pl
Abstract:
The swelling of poly(TRIM) spherical particles in TEOS is assessed as a potential way for obtaining polymer-silica nanocomposite materials. Silica deposition was achieved by simply stirring of swollen polymer particles in acidic hydrochloric-water solution. This procedure leads to spherical composite particles with dispersed silica gel within the polymer matrix. The resulting material exhibits the same morphology as the initial polymer. Nanocomposite particles are silica rich (about 17 wt.%). Characterization of the nanocomposites was performed using scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, (29)Si CP MAS NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. Moreover, the use of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy PALS to characterize the structural properties of the nanocomposites is presented. This technique gave more realistic pieces of information about the pore structure of the investigated samples in contrast to nitrogen adsorption studies.
