Surface modification of ZnO nano-particles with Trimetoxyvinyl Silane and Oleic Acid and studying their dispersion in organic media

Zinc oxide nano-particles with the average diameter of about 25 nm were modified with different mole ratios of trimetoxyvinyl silane (TMVS) and oleic acid, as coupling agents, in order to modify their surface properties and render them more hydrophobic. Then, dispersibility of the surface modified nano-particles was examined in some monomers with different levels of hydrophobicity, including methyl methacrylate (MMA), butylacrylate (BuA), and styrene with low, medium and high hydrophobicity, respectively. The modified ZnO nano-particles were characterized using elemental analysis (EA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Findings revealed that the surface modified ZnO nano-particles were more dispersible in the examined organic media indicating better compatibility. TMVS behaved more efficient than Oleic acid, as coupling agent, to make compatibility with MMA; Whereas, ZnO modified with oleic acid exerted more compatibility with styrene. The mixed coupling agent (50/50 Wt% TMVS/oleic acid) showed better compatibility with BuA.