Spherical polyelectrolyte brushes as a nanoreactor for synthesis of ultrafine magnetic nanoparticles.

Ultrafine magnetic nanoparticles (MNP, 1.4-5.8 nm) were generated within a nanoreactor of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB). SPB consist of a solid polystyrene (PS) core and densely grafted poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) chains. Due to strong chemical coordination between carboxyl groups in PAA and MNP surfaces, the obtained magnetic spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (MSPB) kept excellent stability and maintained pH sensitivity. The magnetic properties of MSPB were confirmed by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The size and the size dispersion of MNP can be modulated by varying adding sequences (conventional coprecipitation or reverse coprecipitation), or nanoreactor structure (with or without crosslinking). MNP content in MSPB could be adjusted by multicycle reactions. This new strategy makes it possible to synthesize ultrafine inorganic nanoparticles with tunable size in SPB.