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Photosynthesis of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) microspheres: a component for making covalently cross-linked colloidosomes and organic/inorganic nanocomposites

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Abstract

Herein, we report a photoinitiated RAFT dispersion polymerization for the preparation of highly monodisperse poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) microspheres at room temperature. Fast polymerization rates were achieved, with near quantitative yields within 2 h of UV irradiation. The effect of reaction conditions (e.g., stabilizer concentration, monomer concentration and solvent composition) on particle morphologies was studied in detail. Amine-functionalized PGMA microspheres were prepared by treating PGMA microspheres with ethylene diamine (EDA) at 70 °C, and the obtained product was characterized by FT-IR and XPS. Such amine-functionalized PGMA microspheres were able to stabilize oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. Covalently cross-linked colloidosomes were formed by cross-linking primary amino groups on the particle surface using (tolylene 2,4-diisocyanate-terminated poly(propylene glycol) (PPG-TDI) as a cross-linker. Amine-functionalized PGMA microspheres were also employed as templates for the synthesis of PGMA/gold (Au) hybrid microspheres and large gold nanoplates.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 21504017), Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (Grant 2016A030310339), and the Innovation Project of Education Department in Guangdong (Grant 2015KTSCX029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymeric Materials and Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Jianbo Tan, Lili Fu, Xuechao Zhang, Yuhao Bai & Li Zhang

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, Guangzhou, China

    Jianbo Tan & Li Zhang

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  1. Jianbo Tan
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Tan, J., Fu, L., Zhang, X. et al. Photosynthesis of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) microspheres: a component for making covalently cross-linked colloidosomes and organic/inorganic nanocomposites. J Mater Sci 51, 9455–9471 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-016-0190-3

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