Organic–inorganic nanocomposites with high refractive index (RI) are typically constructed by integrating high RI inorganic nanoscale building blocks into a processable, transparent organic matrix. These nanocomposites combine the numerous advantages of organic and inorganic components, and have many promising applications in optical design and advanced optoelectronic fabrication. A substantial amount of work has been performed in this area. This Feature article summarizes the general design principles and different fabrication approaches of high RI nanocomposites, and reviews recent research advances and some important optical applications of these nanocomposites.

High refractive index organic–inorganic nanocomposites: design, synthesis and application

Visibly highly transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) grafted ITO nanoparticles into a commercial epoxy resin. The oleic acid stabilized, highly crystalline, and near monodisperse ITO nanoparticles were synthesized via a nonaqueous synthetic route with multigram batch quantities. An azido–phosphate ligand was synthesized and used to exchange with oleic acid on the ITO surface. The azide terminal group allows for the grafting of epoxy resin compatible PGMA polymer chains via Cu(I) catalyzed alkyne–azide “click” chemistry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation shows that PGMA grafted ITO particles were homogeneously dispersed within the epoxy matrix. Optical properties of ITO/epoxy nanocomposites with different ITO concentrations were studied with an ultraviolet–visible-near-infrared (UV–vis-NIR) spectrometer. All the ITO/epoxy nanocomposites show more than 90% optical transparency in the visible light range and absor...

Preparation and Optical Properties of Indium Tin Oxide/Epoxy Nanocomposites with Polyglycidyl Methacrylate Grafted Nanoparticles

Transparent zirconia (ZrO 2 ) nanocrystal dispersions in butyl acetate (BAc) or tetrahydrofuran (THF) were prepared by functionalizing zirconia nanocrystals, synthesized from a solvothermal reaction of zirconium (IV) isopropoxide isopropyl alcohol complex in benzyl alcohol, with 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS), and were embedded into UV-curable polyurethane (PU) coatings. It was found that the ZrO 2 concentration was the dominating factor influencing the transparency of the zro 2 dispersion, while the molar ratio of MPS to ZrO 2 was rather efficient in adjusting the amount of MPS attached. Phase separation of the ZrO 2 nanocrystals in polyurethane coatings was observed, and was strongly related to the MPS-modified ZrO 2 (MPS-ZrO 2 ) content and the amount of MPS chemically bonded. The phase separation of the PU/ZrO 2 nanocomposite coatings appeared more seriously for higher MPS-ZrO 2 content and higher amounts of MPS attached; thus the transparency of the nanocomposite coatings was lower. However, completely transparent PU/ZrO 2 nanocomposite coatings could be still achieved even with a ZrO 2 content up to 7.5 wt.-% using a ZrO 2 /BAc dispersion. Improvements in pendulum hardness, microhardness and scratch resistance of the polyurethane coatings via addition of MPS-ZrO 2 were demonstrated, but were not remarkable because of the low cross-linking efficiency of the MPS-ZrO 2 nanoparticles resulting from the poor compatibility of the MPS-ZrO 2 nanoparticles with the pure PU oligomers.

Phase Separation and Properties of UV-Curable Polyurethane/Zirconia Nanocomposite Coatings

A new Eu(III) complex, [Eu(tta)3DPA] (1) (tta = 2-Thenoyltrifluoroacetone and DPA = 2,2′-Dipyridylamine) has been synthesized and characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Photoluminescence (PL) studies of complex 1 were performed in the solid state and in a range of solvents to assess the effect of high energy oscillators on the PL and the results were correlated to radiative (AR) and non-radiative (ANR) decay rates. The theoretically values are in good agreement with the experimental results. A flexible transparent thin film was developed by embedding complex 1 into poly(urethane) (PU) polymer. PU@1 was characterized by EDX, SEM, AFM, and static contact angle measurement. Mechanical properties of the PU@1 were determined. PL studies of the hybrid material displayed typical narrow emission similar to complex 1 (FWHM ≈ 3.48 nm). Thermal, photostability (under UV radiation) and Laser properties of complex 1 and PU@1 were also investigated.

A new brilliant red emitting Eu(III) ternary complex and its transparent flexible and photostable poly(urethane) hybrid thin film for optoelectronic applications

A new β-diketone, 5,6-dimethoxy-2(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-1-indone (5,6-DTFI), has been designed and synthesized. Two series of four 5,6-DTFI Sm3+ and Eu3+ complexes, namely, Eu(5,6-DTFI)3(H2O)2 (1), Eu(5,6-DTFI)3(Phen) (2), Sm(5,6-DTFI)3(H2O)2 (3) and Sm(5,6-DTFI)3(Phen) (4) (Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been isolated. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that all complexes 1–4 are of mononuclear structures. Luminescent and phosphorescent spectra of complexes 1–4 show strong characteristic emissions of the corresponding Eu3+ and Sm3+ ions. Upon complexes 1 and 2 were doped into the poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) forming the films, the PMMA polymer matrix acting as a co-sensitizer for Eu3+ ion enhances the luminescent lifetimes, overall quantum yields and the thermal stability in comparison with the precursor complexes.

Efficient red emission from PMMA films doped with 5,6-DTFI europium(III) complexes: synthesis, structure and photophysical properties.

UV-curable polymer/nanosized indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) nanocomposite coatings were fabricated by blending ITO slurry and oligomer and reactive monomers. The preparation of ITO slurry and the effect of the ITO content on the electrical conductivity, hardness and optical properties of the nanocomposite coats were investigated. It was found that the electric conductivity and UV absorbance of the nanocomposite coats increased while the hardness and refractive index first increased then decreased with increasing ITO concentration since too high ITO resulted in the incomplete curing of the coatings.

Preparation and properties of UV-curable polymer/nanosized indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) nanocomposite coatings

Europium(III) (Eu 3+ )-doped polyurethane films were prepared by mixing Eu-methacrylic acid complex (Eu(MA) 3 ) with aliphatic polyurethane oligomer and subsequently curing under UV irradiation. Transmission electron microscopy photos and the appearance of the resulting hybrid films showed that phase separation occurred only at an Eu(MA) 3 content above 20 wt.-%. Fluorescence spectra indicated that the fluorescence of Eu 3+ was barely influenced by the polyurethane matrix and its intensity increased with an Eu(MA) 3 content in the range of approximately 0 to 10 wt.-%. An obvious applied external-field-dependent magnetization (M) of polyurethane/Eu(MA) 3 films, namely, an increasing M at low field and a decreasing M at high field, was observed at room temperature from the hysteresis loops, which was influenced by both the Eu(MA) 3 content and the ultrasonication imposed on the coatings before curing. It seems that ultrasonication leads to a thermodynamically-unstable structure of Eu 3+ in hybrid films, which can be fixed by UV curing but gradually rearranges to its original form during the thermal-curing process, and enhances the diamagnetic part of the hybrid film. Thus, the magnetic property of Eu 3+ -doped polyurethane film at room temperature can be adjusted by simply changing the preparation method and the Eu(MA) 3 content instead of the type of Eu 3+ -organic complex.

Preparation and Fluorescent and Magnetic Properties of Polyurethane/Eu(MA)3 Films

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Yijing Yin

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Preparation and properties of UV-curable polymer/nanosized indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) nanocomposite coatings

Preparation and Fluorescent and Magnetic Properties of Polyurethane/Eu(MA)3 Films