Abstract: Polycarbonate (PC) nanofiber reinforced polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) transparent composites were developed by combination of co-axial electrospinning and hot-press technique. PMMA shell and PC core composite nanofibers were obtained through the coaxial-electrospinning and the nanofiber membranes were hot pressed into PC nanofiber reinforced PMMA transparent composites. TiO₂ nano-particles of different contents were introduced into the shell (PMMA) and the core (PC) part of the composite nanofibers to shield ultraviolet transmittance of the resulting transparent composite. Distributions of the nano-particles in different parts of the core-shell structure of the composite nanofibers were observed, and the nanoparticle influences of different contents and locations on visible light transmittance, ultraviolet radiation shielding and mechanical properties of the composites were analyzed. The results show that the ultraviolet radiation shielding capacity and tensile properties can be enhanced when the nanoparticles are located within the shell part, with a little drop in the visible light transmittance. The nano-particles introduced into the core part induce significant improvement in mechanical performance without obvious impact on the visible light transmittance.

Key words: co-axial electrospinning, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate, TiO₂, visible light transmittance, ultraviolet radiation