Phase interactions in organic-inorganic hybrids containing titania and an aliphatic polyester or polycarbonate

New organic-inorganic hybrids were synthesised by sol-gel process. The inorganic phase was composed of titania while the organic matrix is made of either aliphatic polyester or polycarbonate. Attention was paid to investigation of interactions between organic and inorganic domains. It was found that transesterification reactions occur during the synthesis. Although transesterification proceeds with different mechanisms in polyester- and in polycarbonate-containing hybrids, in both cases it provides strong interactions between phases, as assessed by FT-IR and XPS analyses. The obtained hybrids are transparent to visible light and, when applied as thin layer coatings, they provide substrates with radiopacity and barrier effect to ultraviolet radiation.