Unraveling the Molecular Weight Dependence of Interfacial Interactions in Poly(2-vinylpyridine)/Silica Nanocomposites

Dmitry N. Voylov, Adam P. Holt, Benjamin Doughty, Vera Bocharova, Harry M. Meyer, Shiwang Cheng, Halie Martin, Mark Dadmun, Alexander Kisliuk, Alexei P. Sokolov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

The structure and polymer-nanoparticle interactions among physically adsorbed poly(2-vinylpyridine) chains on the surface of silica nanoparticles (NPs) were systematically studied as a function of molecular weight (MW) by sum frequency generation (SFG) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies. Analysis of XPS data identified hydrogen bonds between the polymer and NPs, while SFG evaluated the change in the number of free OH sites on the NP's surface. Our data revealed that the hydrogen bonds and amount of the free -OH sites have a significant dependence on the polymer's MW. These results provide clear experimental evidence that the interaction of physically adsorbed chains with nanoparticles is strongly MW dependent and aids in unraveling the microscopic mechanism responsible for the strong MW dependence of dynamics of the interfacial layer in polymer nanocomposites.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)68-72
Number of pages5
JournalACS Macro Letters
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 21 2017

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