Synthesis and characterization of organic–inorganic hybrid microspheres

Abstract

This study presents the synthesis of hybrid microspheres based on monomers of various chemical nature. As organic compounds, styrene and 1,4-divinylbenzene were used, whereas triethoxyvinylsilane (TEVS) was applied as an inorganic one. Four different systems with the increasing quantity of TEVS were studied. Then inorganic parts of TEVS were removed with aqueous solution of NaOH. Structure of the new materials was confirmed by FTIR-ATR, EDX–SEM and TGA analyses. Thermal resistance of the copolymers was assessed using the TG–DTG system. The synthesized hybrid materials exhibited highly developed porous structure that was confirmed from the low-temperature nitrogen adsorption data. The prepared materials were tested as sorbents for removing organic compounds from aqueous solutions using the SPE technique.