High refractive index films prepared from titanium chloride and methyl methacrylate via a non-aqueous sol-gel route

Poly(methylmethacrylate)/silica/titania films were prepared via a nonaqueous sol-gel route at ambient temperature. followed by spin-coating and multistep baking. The acrylic monomers used were methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (MSMA). Silicic acid and titanium(IV) chloride were used as the precursors of the inorganic component. FTIR results indicated the successful bonding between TiO2 and SiO2. TEM images suggested the silica/titania particles were well dispersed in the Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix with the particles size smaller than 40 nm in our study. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were also studied. The refractive index of the hybrid increased with increasing the titania content, and the hybrid films showed high optical transparency in visible region.