Surface functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles with cationic polymers via the combination of mussel inspired chemistry and surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization: Characterization and enhanced removal of organic dye.

Monodispersed SiO2 particles functionalized with cationic polymers poly-((3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride) (PAPTCl) were prepared using mussel inspired surface modification strategy and surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and zeta potential were employed to characterize these SiO2 samples. The adsorption performance of the functionalized SiO2 (donated as SiO2-PDA-PAPTCl) towards anionic organic dye Congo red (CR) was investigated to evaluate their potential environmental applications. We demonstrated that the surface of SiO2 particles can be successfully functionalized with cationic PAPTCl. The adsorption capability of as-prepared SiO2 was found to increases from 28.70 and 106.65mg/g after surface grafted with cationic polymers. The significant enhancement in the adsorption capability of SiO2-PDA-PAPTCl is mainly attributed to the introduction of cationic polymers. More importantly, this strategy is expected to be promising for fabrication of many other functional polymer nanocomposites for environmental applications due to the universality of mussel inspired chemistry and well designability and good monomer adaptability of SI-ATRP.