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Nanostructured Membranes from Soft and Hard Nanoparticles Prepared via RAFT‐mediated PISA
Author(s) -
Rubio Adrien,
Desnos Gregoire,
Semsarilar Mona
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201800351
Subject(s) - materials science , chain transfer , raft , methacrylate , chemical engineering , membrane , dynamic light scattering , polymerization , nanoparticle , copolymer , polymer , monomer , dispersion polymerization , transmission electron microscopy , tetraethyl orthosilicate , polymer chemistry , polystyrene , scanning electron microscope , emulsion polymerization , radical polymerization , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , biochemistry , engineering
Reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) is used to prepare a series of near mono‐dispersed poly(2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)‐poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PDMA‐PBzMA) diblock copolymer nanoparticles in an ethanol–water binary mixture via polymerization‐induced self‐assembly. A relatively long PDMA (DP = 88) chain transfer agent is targeted to ensure that only spherical morphologies are obtained. High (>99%) BzMA monomer conversions can be achieved within 24 h when targeting degrees of polymerization (DP) of up to 1000. The resulting particles are analyzed using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particles with PBzMA DPs of 500 and 1000 are used as templates for deposition of silica particles. TEM images confirm that tetramethyl orthosilicate precursor is successfully converted into silica sols that are deposited on the surface of the spherical polymer nanoparticles. Thin film membranes are then prepared from these silicified spherical particles (hard spheres) as well as the initial spherical particles devoid of silica coating (soft spheres). These membranes are fully characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and water filtration test.