Ultrasonic preparation of new nanocomposites poly(GMA)@amino-functionalized Fe3O4: structural, morphological and thermal properties

This work focuses on the preparation and characterization of new poly(GMA)@Fe3O4 and poly(GMA)@Fe3O4-NH2 nanocomposites. Firstly, the magnetite was synthesized and functionalized by different aminosilanes (mono, di and triamine); then, different percentages of these materials were dispersed by ultrasound in the poly(GMA) matrix. The structural, thermal and morphological properties of obtained composites were evaluated. For this, different characterizations such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, scanning electronic microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were employed. It was shown that the aminosilanes nature, the percentage of nanofillers and the use of ultrasonic treatment play a very important role in the structural, thermal and morphological properties of the obtained composites; the results show that the best composites with improved stabilities were obtained by Fe3O4 and NH2-Fe3O4 functionalized by monoamine as nanofillers. The yields of the obtained composites were very high in a lower reaction time, which is mainly due to the sonication process. The use of ultrasound also allowed preserving the epoxy ring known to be a very reactive function and an easily opened ring; this huge advantage will allow a possible modification of these composites for any application. [GRAPHICS] .