Preparation of ZrO₂/silicone hybrid materials for LED encapsulation via in situ sol‐gel reaction

Abstract

Organic silicones have been used as encapsulant materials for light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) for many years, while their performances need to be improved in order to satisfy the requirements of high‐power LEDs. A ZrO 2 /silicone hybrid resin (ZHR) was synthesized for LEDs encapsulation by in situ sol‐gel reactions. The oligosiloxane was synthesized as polymeric matrix by nonaqueous sol‐gel condensation using diphenylsilanediol (DPSD), vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS), and 3‐methacryloxy propyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) as monomers. Then zirconium propoxide was added into this polymeric matrix to be hydrolyzed to obtain the hybrid resin with a uniform dispersion of ZrO 2 nanoparticles. The Si–O–Zr covalent bond was detected and benefited for excellent dispersibility of the ZrO 2 nanoparticles and the well compatibility between organic and inorganic phases. The cured ZHR with 5 wt% ZrO 2 content showed high light transmittance (greater than 80% in visible light range), high refractive index (=1.56), and high thermal stability (no yellowing at 150°C for 240 hours). The luminous flux of the LED chip with ZHR encapsulant was 10% higher than that of the pure silicone resin, suggesting that ZHR has great application potential in the field of LED packaging.