Titanium dioxide/P(St-co-DVB)-MAA hybrid composite particles prepared by dispersion polymerization

Inorganic core and polymer shell composite poly (styrene-co-divinylbenzene)-methacrylic acid (P(St-co-DVB)-MAA) particles were prepared by two-step dispersion polymerization. Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis were used to measure the methacrylic acid content in the composites particles. X-ray measurement photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements indicated the presence of MAA units on the surface of the composite particles. The combined results of the elemental analysis and the XPS measurements showed that the copolymer on the surface of the poly (St-co-DVB)-MAA composite particles were rich in MAA, as compared with that in the interior of the composite particles. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to study the morphology of the composite particles. The TGA results indicated that the encapsulation efficiency was as high as 76.9% and density ranged from 1.69 to 1.99 g/cm3. The estimated density of the composite particles is 1.73 g/cm3 due to the density matching with the suspending media.