Abstract
A series of epoxy methacrylate/silica hybrids, containing 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15 wt.% tetraethyloxysilane (TEOS), were synthesized by sol-gel process. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the hybrids were higher than that of the pure epoxy methacrylate, the maximum increase of 26.7 °C being achieved with the addition of 3 wt.% TEOS. The decomposition temperatures (Td) of the hybrids were higher than that of the pure epoxy methacrylate (EMA) and rose as the TEOS content increased. The light transmittance of the hybrids was still higher than 80% with up to 15 wt.% TEOS. The water permeability of the hybrids decreased with increasing TEOS content to 7 wt.%, and then increased to 15 wt.%. The hybrid with 7 wt.% TEOS exhibited a maximum permeability decrease of 54.0%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the number of dispersed droplet of silica increased as the content of TEOS increased.