Catalytic effects of aluminum butoxyethoxide in sol-gel hybrid hard coatings

Hybrid inorganic-organic hard coatings on PMMA substrate were obtained by sol-gel reaction of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane(GPTS), tetramethyl orthosilicate(TMOS) and aluminum butoxyethoxide (Al(OEtOBu)(3)). The catalytic effect of aluminum butoxyethoxide on inorganic condensation and epoxide polymerization has been studied by C-13, Si-29 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Hardness of hybrid inorganic-organic materials were measured by nanoindentor and mainly influenced by the extent of epoxide polymerization and inorganic condensation of their coating catalyzed by aluminum butoxyethoxide.