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  • Additive and free‐volume ef...
    Filho, Edmundo B. D. S.; Su, Yue; Takashina, Mamoru; Fowler, Gary; Chien, Po‐Hsiu; Stiegman, Albert E.

    Journal of applied polymer science, December 15, 2020, Volume: 137, Issue: 47
    Journal Article

    A series of hard, transparent, thermoset polymer samples containing tetravinylsilane (TVS) and 1,3‐benzenedithiol (BDT) with varying loadings of zirconium oxide clusters Zr6(OH)4O4(OMc)12 (ZOC) were synthesized. Resulting polymers exhibited a higher refractive index (n) than the parent polymer containing only the monomers TVS and BDT. The refractive index reached a maximum value of 1.711 at a ZOC loading of 3 wt% and then decreased as the ZOC concentration in the polymer matrix increased. The refractive index of ZOC was determined to be 1.540 using the Becke line method. Because the refractive index of ZOC is lower than that of the TVS–BDT polymer matrix, the finding that the incorporation of small quantities of ZOC can increase the refractive index of the TVS–BDT polymer composite was unexpected and is accounted for by the effects of ZOC on the packing efficiency of the composite.