Structure of polylactide-modified silicasol nanocomposites based on thermodynamically compatible components

The possibility of implementing entropic mixing for preparing nanocomposites based on thermodynamically compatible components was studied in this work. Polylactide was used as matrix polymer; molecular silicasols with modified surface were employed as a filler. The shell hydrophile of these particles decreases interfacial tension and prevents their aggregation in the bulk of the nanocomposite. A preliminary assessment of the thermodynamic compatibility of polylactide with the selected type of molecular silicasols was performed. The structure of obtained composites was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering. The necessity of modifying the nanoparticle surface by groups compatible with the matrix polymer, which makes it possible to prepare a composite where all filler is dispersed within the matrix to the nanoscale level without using supplementary dispersion techniques, was shown in the work.