Hydrophobic poly(lauryl methacrylate)‐coated magnetic nano‐composite particles for removal of organic pollutants

Abstract

This paper described a simple novel technique to prepare magnetic nano‐composite particles coated with highly crosslinked poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA), a hydrophobic polymer because of its long chain alkyl group for application in waste water purification. Nano‐sized magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) particles prepared by coprecipitation of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ from their alkali aqueous solution were encapsulated with SiO 2 following treatment with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS). Finally precipitation copolymerization of LMA and divinyl benzene (DVB) in the presence of Fe 3 O 4 /SiO 2 particles was carried out within stable isolated droplets containing hexadecane–toluene mixture (4:1 mixture HD‐T). The produced PLMA‐coated magnetic composite particles named as Fe 3 O 4 /SiO 2 /P(LMA‐DVB) were characterized by Fourier Transform IR (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetry (TG) and X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) analyses. The performance of the composite particles was evaluated for the removal of organic pollutants from water. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.