Visible Light-Induced Metal Free Surface Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate on SBA-15.

Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is one of the most versatile techniques to modify the surface properties of materials. Recent developed metal-free SI-ATRP makes such techniques more widely applicable. Herein photo-induced metal-free SI-ATRP of methacrylates, such as methyl methacrylate, N-isopropanyl acrylamide, and N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, on the surface of SBA-15 was reported to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid materials. A SBA-15-based polymeric composite with an adjustable graft ratio was obtained. The structure evolution during the SI-ATRP modification of SBA-15 was monitored and verified by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, BET, and TEM. The obtained polymeric composite showed enhanced adsorption ability for the model compound toluene in aqueous conditions. This procedure provides a low-cost, readily available, and easy modification method to synthesize polymeric composites without the contamination of metal.