Dense poly(4-vinyl pyridine) brushes grafting from silica nanoparticles via atom transfer radical polymerization

•Dense poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) brushes were grafted on silica nanoparticles.•P4VP was grafted via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP).•Two macro-initiators were synthesized for ATRP of P4VP.•The polymer content of P4VP reached 94 wt%.•Regular P4VP@SiO2 nano-spheres were obtained due to the very high graft density.

Dense poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) brushes were grafted on the surface of silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NP) via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The “grafting from” method was discussed and the morphology, composition and structure of the P4VP-grafted SiO2 were characterized. Two different macroinitiators were synthesized and applied for the initiation of the “grafting from” polymerization. Dense P4VP brushes were successfully grafted on the surface of SiO2-NP. The weight ratio of P4VP reached more than 94 wt%.as calculated by both thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and elemental analysis (EA).

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