Preparation and Characterization of Monoclinic Zirconia/PMMA Composites Via a Sol-gel Process

Using zirconium n-butoxide as the precursor of zirconia,the PMMA/colloidal nano-ZrO2 composites with the different contents of ZrO2 were successfully synthesized by the hydrolytic sol-gel technique.And the resulting PMMA/ZrO2 composite films were fabricated by the dip coating and casting methods.The structure and properties of the PMMA/ZrO2 composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction,FTIR,UV/Vis,fluorescence spectrum,TGA techniques.The results showed that the nano sized zirconia with monoclinic form could be formed by sol-gel method under lower temperature without roasting.The morphologies studies indicated the embedding of the zirconia in the PMMA matrix.The thermal stability and photoluminescence properties of PMMA were evidently enhanced after loading zirconia.