Effects of chemical modification on the performance evaluation of photoinitiated, dispersion-polymerized poly(methyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate-co-vinylbenzyl chloride) microsphere

Abstract

Poly(methyl methacrylate- co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate- co-vinylbenzyl chloride) microsphere was prepared by dispersion polymerization, initiated by light using water/ethanol mixture. The sulfonated hypercrosslinked (HXL) polymer resin was synthesized via three stages, namely, precursor synthesis (photoinitiated dispersion polymerization), post-polymerization after hypercrosslinking reaction, and post-polymerization before hypercrosslinking reaction. The optimized precursor was functionalized before the hypercrosslinking reaction to investigate its ion-exchange capacity, specific surface area (SSA), morphology, and thermal stability. Post-polymerization after hypercrosslinking reaction showed that the chlorine content and SSA are higher than post-polymerization before hypercrosslinking reaction. HXL reaction took place using Friedel–Crafts alkylation with the aid of FeCl3 catalyst. Lewis acid (FeCl3) also played a significant role which contributed to high SSA of the HXL polymer. The particles produced from photoinitiated dispersion polymerization have advantages and could be used in solid-phase extraction, drug delivery, and high-performance liquid chromatography.