Grafting of Poly(methyl methacrylate) on the Surface of Cylindrical Mesopores of Ordered Silica via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was grafted on the surface of ultra-large-pore SBA-15 silica using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The silica support was synthesized using Pluronic P123 (EO20PO70EO20) as a surfactant template and 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene as a micelle swelling agent. The surface of SBA-15 was modified with bromoisobutyryl groups, which served as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiation sites. Normal ATRP of methyl methacrylate was carried out at 40 degrees C in anisole. The loading of PMMA was controlled in a range from 5 to similar to 50 wt.% by changing the polymerization time. The pores of the SBA-15/PMMA nanocomposites were accessible for PMMA loading up to similar to 40 wt.% and the pore size distributions were narrow. The grafted polymers had quite low polydispersity.