Surface functionalized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle filled organic-inorganic hybrid materials with enhanced thermo-mechanical properties

The aim of this work is to use surface modified ZnO nanoparticles in combination with hyperbranched reactive polymer network to prepare moisture cure eco-friendly hybrid coatings and study their structure property relationship. The surface of the ZnO nanoparticles has been modified with silane coupling agent to get organo functional modified ZnO nanoparticles and were used for coatings formulation. The structure-properties of HBPUU (hyperbranched polyurethane urea)-modified nano ZnO hybrid materials were compared with HBPUU-nano-ZnO hybrid coatings. The viscoelastic, thermal and surface morphology of these coatings were characterized by Dynamic Mechanical and Thermal Analyzer (DMTA), Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) and Contact Angle Instrument. TGA and DMTA data suggest higher thermal stability and glass transition temperature (Tg) for the coatings prepared using modified nano ZnO (5%) as compared to nano ZnO (5%) hybrids. The contact angle data suggest better hydrophobic character of the hybrid coatings prepared using modified ZnO. The AFM result suggests that the surface roughness value of modified nano ZnO hybrid coatings is less when compared to their corresponding nano ZnO based hybrid coatings.