Macroporous magnetic poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) nanocomposites prepared via magnetite nanoparticles-stabilized high internal phase emulsions

Abstract

Macroporous magnetic poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) [P(St–DVB)] nanocomposites with an open-cell structure have been synthesized through high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templates solely stabilized by surface-modified magnetite nanoparticles (MPs). When the particle concentration was below 20% based on monomers, the compression strength increased with the increasing concentration of particles, while the average void size became small and the size distribution of voids tended to be narrow. On the other hand, the mechanical properties decreased as the internal phase weight fraction was changed from 80% to 90%. However, interconnected pores appeared after polymerization when an internal phase of HIPE was up to 90% stabilized by only 6% of MPs. The magnetic properties of the obtained macroporous P(St–DVB) nanocomposites were also investigated in this article.