Nanocomposites of ZnS and poly-(dimethyl)-block-(phenyl)siloxane as a new high-refractive-index polymer media

In the present paper, we describe a new and original method to obtain transparent, siloxane-based composites, with high refractive index (up to 1.68). The method is based on the decomposition of Zn-siloxane, mixed with a poly-(dimethyl)-block-(phenyl)siloxane matrix in different ratios. It was found that after treatment of such mixed metal-containing polymer blend with H2S, the nanoparticles of ZnS are formed, with the size in a 1- to 5-nm range, which allow effective increase of the refractive index of the nanocomposite mixture with poly-(dimethyl)-block-(phenyl)siloxane without loss of film transparency. We succeded to increase the refractive index from 1.54 (pure matrix) up to 1.68 (composite with a ZnS content of 4.6 vol.%). The siloxane-based compositions are optically transparent, which makes it possible to use them as light-emitting diodes or solar cell sealants or adhesives.