Synthesis and characterization of magnetic porous Fe3O4/poly(methylmethacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) microspheres and their use in removal of Rhodamine B

Abstract

Porous polymers are very suitable materials for the adsorption of organic pollutants due to their abundant pores and organic frameworks in aqueous solution. However, their recovery from treated pollutant is difficult, and thus, their application is limited. A facile strategy to synthesize reusable magnetic porous microspheres (MPMS) of Fe3O4/poly(methylmethacrylate (MMA)-co-divinylbenzene (DVB)) is described in this paper. The magnetic microspheres were synthesized by suspension copolymerization. MMA was used as a monomer, DVB was used as a crosslinker, and the magnetic fluid was added to the organic phase. The morphology of MPMS was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and other properties were tested by superconducting quantum interference device, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen sorption-desorption techniques. The synthesized MPMS possessed a high specific surface area using toluene as a porogen. It was further found that the ratio of DVB to MMA, the ratio of porogen to monomer, and the type of porogen all affected the specific surface area and the morphology of the microspheres. Furthermore, the microspheres were applied to remove Rhodamine B from its aqueous solution. The results showed that the microspheres possessed good adsorption capacity for Rhodamine B. This result was due to the porous structure, polar groups, and superparamagnetic characteristic of the synthesized microspheres.