Abstract
We successfully dispersed amorphous bismuth titanate nanoparticles (<50 nm) in situ in poly-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate via a sol-gel process. Since less than 20% of the polymer composition is bismuth titanate by weight, the material exhibits high refractive indices (>1.6) and good optical transparency (>90% transmittance from 530 to 800 nm). Furthermore, this highly cross-linked material has an improved thermal stability and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than that of neat polymers. The material also displays a high dielectric constant (>10) without ferroelectricity. Thus the material has potential applications in optical lenses, optical waveguides, and capacitors. © 2004 Materials Research Society DOI.