Importance of dispersibility of TiO2 in preparation of TiO2-dispersed microspheres by Shirasu porous glass (SPG) membrane emulsification

The preparation of the highly refractive transparent TiO2-dispersed microspheres with uniform size was studied. These nanocomposite microspheres were prepared via TiO2 dispersion in an acrylic monomer and the emulsification by the Shirasu porous glass (SPG) membrane technique. Two kinds of the dispersion methods (bead mill dispersion with fine beads and ultrasonic dispersion) were carried out. The suspension prepared by bead mill included well-dispersed TiO2 nanoparticles and led to the uniformly sized TiO2-dispersed microspheres. It was indicated that the dispersibility of TiO2 in a monomer was the important factor in this process.