Magnetic poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-based microspheres prepared by suspension polymerization in the presence of modified La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 nanoparticles

With the aim of preparing new magnetic poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) microspheres suitable for magnetic separation, La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 nanoparticles were selected as a core material. In order to improve their compatibility with PGMA, the surface of the nanoparticles was treated with penta(methylethylene glycol) phosphate methacrylate (PMGPMA) as a stabilizer. Subsequently, the nanoparticles were encapsulated by the suspension polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) resulting in a relatively homogeneous distribution of La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 nanoparticle aggregates inside the polymer microspheres. Microspheres in the size range of a hundred micrometers with a broad particle size distribution were obtained. PMGPMA can be considered to be an efficient compatibilizer between La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 nanoparticles and PGMA. Both PMGPMA-coated La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 nanoparticles and magnetic PGMA microspheres were characterized in terms of morphology, particle size, composition and magnetic properties by the appropriate methods, such as X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), light microscopy and SQUID magnetometry.