Complex microparticulate systems based on glycidyl methacrylate and xanthan

• A new type of porous microparticle with complex structure was investigated.
• The porous structure was influenced by the nature of the crosslinking monomers.
• The presence of xanthan influenced the properties of microparticles.
• The microparticles with xanthan exhibit smaller average sizes.
• Xanthan slightly decreases the thermal stability of the microparticles.

Porous microparticles based on glycidyl methacrylate, dimethacrylic monomers [ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate] and xanthan gum were synthesized by aqueous suspension polymerization method in the presence of toluene as diluent using two types of initiators: benzoyl peroxide and ammonium persulfate. The G microparticles based on glycidyl methacrylate and dimethacrylic monomers and X microparticles based on glycidyl methacrylate, xanthan and dimethacrylic monomers were characterized by various techniques including FT-IR spectroscopy, TG analysis, SEM analysis and DVS method. The specific surface areas were determined by DVS method, while the copolymer porosities and pore volume were obtained from the apparent and skeletal densities. The results have indicated that xanthan was included in the crosslinked matrix by means of covalent bonds. X microparticles have a porous structure with higher specific surface area (129–44 m2/g) and higher sorption capacities compared with G microparticles (69–31 m2/g).