Hybrid nanocomposites based on poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) block copolymer modified with a mixture of both vanadium and titanium nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel process. With the aim of studying the influence of the addition of V:Ti nanoparticles on the self-assembled PS-b-PEO block copolymer, two different V:Ti mixtures were prepared. Addition of even 60 vol sol-gel to fabrication of hybrid nanocomposites allows us to reach well-dispersed, uniform in size V;Ti nanoparticles on the substrate surface due to hydrogen-bond formation between the sol-gel network and PEO block. Atomic force microscopy results indicate that increasing of the sol-gel content to 40 vol leads to change the matrix from an organic (PS-block-rich phase) to inorganic (V:Ti nanoparticles/PEO-block-rich) one without losing high nanometric order due to confinement of the V:Ti nanoparticles in the PEO block. Quantitative nanoelectricai and nanomechanical properties were studied that employed novel powerful PeakForce tunneling atomic force microscopy (TUNA) technology confirming conductive properties of the nanoparticles in designed advanced materials.
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Group 'Materials + Technologies', Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Pza Europa 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;
