Abstract
The present investigation deals with the fabrication of new poly(vinyl alcohol)/titanium dioxide (PVA/TiO2) nanocomposites (NCs) with different titanium dioxide (TiO2) loading by using ultrasound irradiation. For the improvement of nanoparticles (NPs) dispersion and increasing possible interactions between NPs and PVA, the surface of TiO2 NPs was modified by γ-aminopropyltriethoxy silane. The as-prepared NCs were characterized by spectroscopic, thermogravimetric analysis and electron microscopy methods. The results demonstrate that NPs dispersed homogeneously within the PVA matrix on nanoscale, which could be assigned to the hydrogen and covalent bonds formed between PVA and NPs. The results indicated that heat stability of NCs was improved in the presence of modified TiO2 NPs. The mechanisms of surface modification and a possible mechanism of ultrasonic induced interaction between polymer and NPs have been analyzed.