Wael A. Amer

Synthesis of Fe3O4@poly(methylmethacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) magnetic porous microspheres and their application in the separation of phenol from aqueous solutions

A simple strategy to fabricate magnetic porous microspheres of Fe(3)O(4)@poly(methylmethacrylate-co-divinylbenzene) was demonstrated. The magnetic microspheres, consisting of polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles, were synthesized by the modified suspension polymerization of methacrylate and divinylbenzene in the presence of a magnetic fluid. The morphology and the properties of the magnetic porous microspheres were examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, superconducting quantum interference device, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and X-ray powder diffraction. The pore size distribution and the specific surface area of the microspheres were measured by nitrogen sorption and mercury porosimetry technique. As predicted from the previous knowledge, the magnetic porous microspheres possessed a high specific surface area using n-hexane as a porogen. It was further found that the amounts of divinylbenzene and methacrylate, the ratio of porogens, and the dosage of ferrofluids affect the specific surface area of the microspheres. Furthermore, the microspheres were applied to remove phenol from aqueous solutions. The results showed that the microspheres had a high adsorption capacity for phenol and a high separation efficiency due to their porous structure, polar groups, and superparamagnetic characteristic.

Recent progress in Fe3O4 based magnetic nanoparticles: from synthesis to application

Fe3O4 based magnetic polymer nanoparticles (MPNPs) are densely studied for several decades. These Fe3O4 based MPNPs can be used in wastewater treatment and biological field such as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, hyperthermia therapy and protein separation. The Fe3O4 based MPNPs are attractive because they combine the advantages of magnetism and polymers together. In order to obtain the practical application in the above mentioned areas, the bare Fe3O4 needs to be functionalised with different kinds of molecules like organic small molecules and polymers and some inorganic molecules like silica, metals and carbon. In this review, the chemical preparation methods, different modification methods and various applications of the Fe3O4 based MPNPs are introduced.

Chemical Modifications of Chitosan and Its Applications

Chitosan is considered as a promising material in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields based on its unique biological properties. This review presents chemical modifications of chitosan via using photosensitizers, dendrimers, sugars, cyclodextrins and crown ethers as modifiers and places an emphasis on the applications of chitosan derivatives as carriers in drug delivery systems, as supporting materials for tissue engineering, as dye removing agents and as metal ion adsorbents. Recently, the progress on chemical modifications of chitosan is quite rapid and we are confident that a more extensive range of applications of chitosan derivatives could be expected in the near future.

Synthesis of ferrocene-based polythiophenes and their applications

Individually, ferrocene and thiophenes have incredible properties and important applications. During the last two decades, scientists synthesized polythiophenes containing ferrocene in the main and side chains. Polythiophenes have redox, conducting, and optical properties. Because of these properties, polythiophenes have been used in sensing applications. In addition, ferrocene has reversible redox properties and accordingly has been used in a lot of sensing devices, such as glucose sensing. Ferrocene can have +2 or +3 oxidation state, which can correspond to “0” and “1”, and thus can be used as a memory storage material. When these two moieties are combined together, they show good compatibility. Therefore, the resulting materials/polymers have been used in memory storage and chemical sensing devices. Thus, we carefully selected studies that are only associated with ferrocene-based polythiophenes. In this review, we tried to focus on the synthesis and applications of ferrocene-based polythiophenes. There are many methods for the polymerization of thiophenes. Here, we discussed the electrochemical polymerization, oxidation polymerization, nickel mediated coupling reactions, and Suzuki polycondensation. In addition, polythiophenes can be decorated with ferrocene, pre- or post-polymerization. These materials were examined for important applications, including information storage, DNA sensing, protein sensing, and glucose sensing materials.

Recent Research Progress in the Synthesis of Polyphosphazene Elastomers and Their Applications

Polyphosphazenes elastomers have major utilization as fire resistant materials, gas kits, O-rings, electrical insulation, oil-resistant hoses, foam, ceramics, especially helicopter, air craft, aerospace, military and navy hardware applications. Tremendous achievements have been obtained for the synthesis and applications of polyphosphazenes. In this review, we highlighted the types, synthesis, characterization and applications of polyphosphazenes elastomers.

Synthesis and Properties of a Ferrocene-based Metallomesogenic Polymer Containing Bis(4-hydroxyoctoxyphenyl)sulfone

Poly[bis(4-hydroxyoctoxyphenyl)sulfone 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate] (PHOSFD) was synthesized by solution polycondensation reaction of bis(4-hydroxyoctoxyphenyl)sulfone with 1,1′-ferrocenyl chloride. The synthesized polymer was characterized via the measurement of its 1H NMR spectrum, UV–Vis spectrum and FTIR spectrum. X-ray diffraction pattern was measured to investigate the crystallinity of the synthesized polymer and it was found that the polymer is mostly amorphous. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined by gel permeation chromatography. In addition, the electrochemical, the thermal, and the liquid crystalline properties of the synthesized polymer were examined and compared with the properties of poly(diethyleneglycol 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PDEFD) that was synthesized in our earlier study. The electrochemical processes of PHOSFD in CH2Cl2 were confirmed neither to be totally reversible nor completely irreversible. Generally, the electrochemical properties of PHOSFD and PDEFD were found to be similar to each other. PHOSFD was found to be thermally stable but its thermal stability is lower than that of PDEFD. Both of PHOSFD and PDEFD showed liquid crystalline properties and they possessed nematic phase textures with schlieren disclinations during heating and cooling.

Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Some Main-Chain Ferrocene-Based Polymers Containing Aromatic Units

Four main-chain ferrocene-based polymers containing aromatic units, including poly(o-Cresolphthalein 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PCPFD), poly(cresol red 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PCRFD), poly(2,4-quinolinediol 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PQDFD), and poly(sudan orange G 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PSOFD), were successfully synthesized. The solution polycondensation reaction was employed for the synthesis of PCPFD and PCRFD while PQDFD and PSOFD were synthesized via an interfacial polycondensation reaction. The synthesized polymers were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, UV–VIS absorption and FTIR spectra and X-ray diffraction. The synthesized main-chain ferrocene-based polymers are generally amorphous. The effect of organic solvent, scan rate, electrolyte concentration and [Fe] concentration on the cyclic voltammetric behavior of the synthesized polymers were examined. The thermal properties were investigated employing thermogravimetric analysis. The results revealed the relative thermal stability of the polymers. The liquid crystalline properties were studied. The results indicated that the synthesized polymers exhibited nematic phases during the scan cycles of heating and cooling with high phase duration.

Recent Research Progress on Polymer Grafted Carbon Black and Its Novel Applications

Abstract Polymer grafting of carbon black (CB) has been intensely researched as polymer modification is one of the effective means for improving the solubility and compatibility of carbon black. Recent advances in the polymer grafting methods allow the introduction of polymers with well controlled composition, structure and molecular weight onto the surface of CB. In addition, modification by functional polymers provides a powerful impetus to extend the applications of polymer-CB composites such as sensitive materials. This review focuses on the development of these grafting polymerization methods and some novel applications of polymer grafted CB.

Study on the electrochemical, thermal, and liquid crystalline properties of poly(diethyleneglycol 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate)

Poly(diethyleneglycol 1,1′-ferrocene dicarboxylate) (PDEFD) was synthesized by solution polycondensation reaction of diethylene glycol with 1,1′-ferrocenyl chloride. The synthesized polymer was characterized via the measurement of its 1H NMR spectrum, UV–vis spectrum, and FTIR spectrum. X-ray diffraction pattern was measured to investigate the crystallinity of the synthesized polymer and it was found that the polymer was mostly amorphous. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined by gel permeation chromatography. In addition, the electrochemical properties of the synthesized polymer were examined and the influence of many parameters, including the solvent, the scan rate, and the electrolyte concentration was studied. The electrode processes were found to be controlled by both electrode reaction and the mass diffusion. In addition, the electrochemical processes of PDEFD in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were confirmed neither to be totally reversible nor completely irreversible. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis were employed to examine the thermal properties of the polymer. Finally, the liquid crystalline properties of the synthesized polymer were investigated via the polarizing optical microscope technique.

Synthesis of silver-anchored polyaniline–chitosan magnetic nanocomposite: a smart system for catalysis

A simple route was employed for the fabrication of a polyaniline (PANI)–chitosan (CS)–magnetite (Fe3O4) nanocomposite (PANI–CS–Fe3O4) via the in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of CS using anhydrous iron(III) chloride as an oxidizing agent. The magnetic character of the nanocomposite results from the presence of iron oxide nanoparticles, which were formed as side products during the synthesis of the PANI–CS nanocomposite. The synthesized PANI–CS–Fe3O4 nanocomposite was fully characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The reduction of silver nitrate by the synthesized nanocomposite enables the anchoring of silver (Ag) nanoparticles onto its surface. The catalytic properties of the Ag-decorated nanocomposite (Ag@PANI–CS–Fe3O4) toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol was investigated using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent.