Highly charged p(4-vinylpyridine-co-vinylimidazole) particles for versatile applications: Biomedical, catalysis and environmental

The pH responsive poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-1-vinylimidazole) p(4-VP-co-VI) and magnetic p(4-VP-co-VI) were prepared by microemulsion polymerization and modified with various bromoalkanes to tune the charge and size of the soft particles. The prepared p(4-VP-co-VI) particles were treated with quaternization agents containing various numbers of carbon atoms including HCl, bromoethane (BE), 1-bromobutane (BB), 1-bromohexane (BH), and 2-bromoethylamine (BEA) to generate charges on the nitrogen atom of the polymeric moieties. The versatile usage of the prepared and modified hydrogel particles were demonstrated in various fields: (1) as drug delivery devices using a model drug, naproxene sodium salt (NS), (2) in environmental applications i.e., toxic species removal of an organic species, 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), and a toxic metal, arsenic, and (3) in catalysis by using the prepared p(4-VP-co-VI) hydrogel particle as a template to prepare a Cu (0) metal nanocatalyst in situ for use in the reduction of 4-NP.