High Refractive Index Thermoplastic Nanocomposites Using Triazine-Based Surface Modifying Agent

High refractive index, colorless and transparent thermoplastic nanocomposites were successfully prepared from polythiocyanurate and ZrO2 nanoparticles using triazine-based surface modifying agent (TSMA). TSMA was designed to consist of triazine units, sulfur atoms and p-xylylene moieties and synthesized to control molecular weights of 3,000-5,000. The nanocomposites with sufficient compression moldability showed homogeneous dispersion of ZrO2 nanoparticles. The films of nanocomposites fabricated by compression molding exhibited high refractive index up to 1.8 and high total light transmittance of 84% and haze value of less than 2.0% in visible region. The high refractive index nanocomposites are promising candidates as advanced materials for optical applications that require high moldability such as aspherical camera lenses for smartphones.