Nano-Silica Reinforced UV-Curable Hybrid Hard Coatings on Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) Substrate

Hybrid sols were synthesized through a combination of hydrolysis and condensation reactions of tetraetoxysilane and γ-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane together with the addition of a colloidal silica suspension. A transparent, hard UV-curable hybrid coatings based on hybrid sols were prepared in order to improve the scratch and abrasion resistance of PMMA substrate. The effects of the content of colloidal silica suspension on pencil hardness, transmittance, and haze were investigated. The pencil hardness of all coating films in this study can be tuned from 4H to 9H, whereas that of uncoated PMMA substrate is 1H. The higher hardness of the coatings can be attributed to the dense structure induced by the increase of network density with the addition of colloidal silica suspension. Furthermore, it is found that the transmittance of coatings slightly fluctuates between 91.8% and 93.6% with increasing colloidal silica content. These results indicate the good compatibility of the organic and inorganic components.