Poly(divinyl benzene) Cross-linked Magnetic Polystyrene Composite Particles: Synthesis and Characterization

The preparation of magnetic polymer composite particles through surface modification and seeded polymerization techniques has been reported here. Iron oxide (Fe3O4) magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by the co-precipitation method and modified with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate), (MPS). Divinylbenzene (DVB) cross-linked magnetic polystyrene termed as Fe3O4/P(St-DVB) composite particles were prepared by the seeded copolymerization of styrene (St) and DVB in presence of MPS modified Fe3O4/SiO2 particles. The surface modification of Fe3O4 nanoparticles with TEOS and MPS was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), fluorescence microscopy (FM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were also used for further characterizations. Magnetic property of the polymer composite particles could be promising for repeated use in separation technology.