Preparation of novel polymer-metal oxide nanocomposites with nanophase separated hierarchical structure

This article deals with preparation of nanocomposite which comprised of nanophase separated structure of polymer chains and metal oxide. By grafting poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly(HEMA) on the surface of titanium which is covered by passive titanium oxide by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and executing anodic polarization, hierarchy nanophase separated structure with controlled thickness can be obtained. The titanium ions would be cationically charged and completely filled up the unoccupied binding sites of the polymer chains via electrochemical reaction, eventually covering the polymer chains with titanium oxide. However, this structure can be obtained when the anodic polarization is executed at initial applied voltage exceeding 10 VSCE. The control of thickness is possible by controlling the initial applied voltage. These results prove that the conventional polymer can form composite structure with metal oxide without using fillers or special polymers designed for composite.