Using ultrasound-assisted dispersion and in situ emulsion polymerization to synthesize TiO2/ASA (acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate) nanocomposites

In this study, TiO 2 /acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) nanocomposites with different loading content of TiO 2 were prepared via in situ emulsion polymerization . Before the polymerization, TiO 2 nanoparticles were dispersed in the reaction monomer by ultrasonic to reduce the agglomeration of TiO 2 . A series of characterization were taken to study the properties of the nanocomposites. The result of Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis indicated that the crystal form of TiO 2 remained unchanged after the in situ emulsion polymerization . Interestingly, the introduction of TiO 2 induced a significant improvement in the impact toughness of TiO 2 /ASA nanocomposites, which increased dramatically by about 10 kJ/m 2 compared with neat ASA. And we attributed this improvement to the better dispersibility of TiO 2 in ASA matrix which is proved by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. In addition, the solar reflectance of the nanocomposites was related to the addition of TiO 2 nanoparticles. The more the TiO 2 nanoparticle was added, the higher the solar reflectance of the nanocomposite was. Moreover, the outdoor temperature test just proved the result of the solar reflectance.