Anchoring CeO2 nanoparticles on monodispersed SiO2 spheres to construct hydrophobic polymer coating with enhanced UV absorption ability

- CeO2@M-SiO2 nanoparticles have good dispersion stability and compatibility in polymer matrices.
- CeO2@M-SiO2 nanoparticles were encapsulated well by fluorinated polyacrylate after film formation.
- The transparent PF/CeO2@M-SiO2 composite film exhibited excellent UV absorption ability.
- An obvious improvement in hydrophobicity and abrasion resistance after incorporation of CeO2@M-SiO2 nanoparticles.

Tremendous effort has been devoted to develop CeO2/polymer nanocomposites due to their excellent ultraviolet radiation absorption properties. However, there still exists many challenges in the successful incorporation of CeO2 nanoparticles into the polymer matrix because the ease aggregation of CeO2 nanoparticles. Here, we addressed the above issue by anchoring CeO2 nanoparticles on functionalized SiO2 spheres before their introduction into polymeric matrix, in which monodispersed vinyl group coated SiO2 spheres were synthesized by co-condensing tetraethoxysilane and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, followed by coating with small size CeO2 nanoparticles (CeO2@M-SiO2) through chemical precipitation. The polymer composite film prepared by importing CeO2@M-SiO2 into fluorinated polyacrylate through miniemulsion polymerization exhibited enhanced UV absorption capacity, accompanied with an obvious improvement in hydrophobicity due to the increase in the surface roughness and fluorine content. Furthermore, the formation mechanism of the nanocomposite film was proposed: a polymer layer would form around the nanoparticles after film formation. This fluorinated polyacrylate/CeO2@M-SiO2 composite film is anticipated to be practically applied as outdoor coatings.

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