Synthesis of well-dispersed polyimide/TiO₂ nanohybrid films using a pyridine-containing aromatic diamine

The sol–gel fabrication of new well-dispersed polyimide (PI)/TiO₂ nanohybrid films is reported. The PI matrixes are synthesized via the polycondensation of pyromellitic dianhydride and a diamine monomer containing several constructive functional groups which introduced some interesting features to the final nanocomposite (NC) materials. The TiO₂–heteroatom interactions associated with the flexible characteristic of polymer backbone (which facilitates the stated interactions) have been led to the fabrication of well-dispersed nanoparticles with less than 100 nm in sizes, as confirmed by means of transmission electron microscopy. Thermal analysis techniques (TGA and DSC) have shown the superior thermal stability of fabricated NCs. The UV–Vis spectroscopy has illustrated a growing trend in the absorption efficiency along with the increase in TiO₂ contents. The created TiO₂ nanoparticles showed amorphous structures according to the X-ray diffraction patterns.