Core-shell magnetic particles obtained by seeded suspension polymerization of acrylic monomers

Abstract Core-shell magnetic polymer particles were synthesized by seeded suspension polymerization. The core was made of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) and a mixture of magnetite, maghemite and goethite (P(MMA-co-DVB)-M). The shell was composed of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) (P(GMA-co-DVB)). These particles were characterized by infrared spectrometry (FTIR), thermal analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results showed the formation of core-shells with good magnetic properties (≈7.1 emu/g) and good thermal resistance (≈300 ºC). The light scattering experiments showed that the particle size of these materials changed from 5-90 microns (core) to 5-120 microns (core-shell). Scanning electron microscopic images were useful to show the formation of P(GMA-co-DVB) shells on P(MMA- co-DVB)-M cores. The materials synthesized in this work have potential to be modified and employed in magnetic separation processes in the biotech and environmental fields.