Preparation and Characterization of Antistatic Silica-based Nanocomposite Coating via Sol-gel Process

In this study,Silica-based anti-static nanocomposite hybrid coatings have been developed via sol-gel process on aluminum and glass substrates using dip coating techniques for mechanical and electrical evaluations. The hybrid sols were prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of 3-glycidoxypropyl-trimethoxysilane (GPTMS)and tetra methylorthosilicate (TMOS) in the presence of acidic catalyst and ethylen diamine (ED), as cross-linking agent. N-(2 aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (AAPM) is used as antistatic agent and the antistatic properties of the coatings were investigated via surface resistivity measurements. The surface morphology and size of the nanoparticles in the hybrid films were observed and determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) respectively. In addition, the hydrolysis and condensation reactions were followed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Also investigation of the coating mechanical properties by cross-cut test revealed that these coatings have great adhesion towards the substrate.