LAUSR

Abstract The thin films of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were deposited on SiO2 nanoparticles using a thermal vapor deposition (TVD) method. Highly conformal thin films with thicknesses less than 5 nm were formed on the surface of SiO2, and the PDMS-coated particles exhibited strong hydrophobicity. We used bare and PDMS-coated SiO2 as additives to a polyethylene (PE) matrix to fabricate inorganic–organic composite materials. The mixtures were blended and injection molded. Our findings suggest that the PDMS coating on SiO2 reduces the formation of large hydroclusters of SiO2 in the PE matrix under high shear stress. Considering that the formation of the hydroclusters of additive particles causes problems during the fabrication processes of injection and extrusion, we suggest that coating these particles with PDMS via TVD can facilitate injection and extrusion processing of inorganic–organic composite materials.