Novel multifunctional microspheres of polysiloxane@CeO2-PMMA: Optical properties and their application in optical diffusers

This study describes a new approach to using microsphere particles for optical diffusion in a liquid crystal display backlighting unit. We developed a one pot synthesis of polysiloxane@CeO 2 -poly(methyl methacrylate) hybrid microspheres and examined its physical and chemical properties by powder transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, FT-IR spectra analysis, UV–vis spectra analysis and diffusing abilities analysis. FT-IR spectra analysis and XRD analysis confirmed the hybrid structure of the synthesized materials . The TEM and SEM results indicated that the synthesized materials are core–shell microspheres with a conventional structure. In an anti-radiation experiment the hybrid microspheres exhibited a significant improvement over conventional plastic by effectively absorbing ultraviolet light . When the amount of polysiloxane@CeO 2 -poly(methyl methacrylate) was increased to 8   wt%, the microspheres blocked almost all UV light , up to 97.5%. This quality alone suggests that polysiloxane@CeO 2 -poly(methyl methacrylate) hybrid microspheres may be an improvement over materials currently used in conventional optical diffusers. We also characterized diffusing abilities of a novel optical diffuser containing polysiloxane@CeO 2 -PMMA core–shell microspheres and found that a polysiloxane diffuser increased in optical diffusing effect as the quantity of polysiloxane@CeO 2 -PMMA increased, exceeding the diffusing abilities of conventional optical diffusers.