Preparation of polymer–nanoparticle composite beads by a nanoparticle-stabilised suspension polymerisation

Abstract

A novel strategy based on nanoparticle-stabilised suspension-polymerisation has been achieved for the preparation of hybrid nanocomposites in the absence of any conventional stabiliser. By using this in situ polymerisation technique, functional nanoparticles can be immobilised onto the surface of polymer beads to significantly modify their properties. In this paper, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are used as stabiliser for the suspension polymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in water. Magnetic Fe₃O₄–PMMA nanocomposite polymer particles have been successfully synthesised. The experimental results show that the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surface of the spherical polymer beads.