Preparation, characterization and mechanical properties of Bi12SiO20–PMMA composite films

Abstract This paper investigates processing and characterization of polymer composite material PMMA–Bi 12 SiO 20 (BSO). Thin films of pure PMMA and composites with 0.5 and 1.0 wt% of Bi 12 SiO 20 powder were made using solution casting method. Characterization of starting components and composites was performed with XRD, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, DCS, tensile tests, nanoindentation and spectroscopic ellipsometry method in order to obtain information of their morphology, structure, thermal stability, mechanical and optical properties. Refractive index measurements using spectroscopic ellipsometry method have shown that refractive index of composites increases with the powder content. Nanoindentation and tensile tests have shown mechanical improvements with the addition of the crystal through Young’s and reduced Young’s modulus and hardness values. DSC analysis has shown an increase in T g for composite with BSO.