Hyper-Crosslinked Polymer Nanocomposites Containing Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Enhanced Adsorption Towards Polar Dyes
Marco Guerritore, Rachele Castaldo, Brigida Silvestri, Roberto Avolio, Mariacristina Cocca, Maria Emanuela Errico, Maurizio Avella, Gennaro Gentile, Veronica Ambrogi
Abstract
The development of new styrene-based hyper-crosslinked nanocomposites (HCLN) containing mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) is reported here as a new strategy to obtain functional high surface area materials with an enhanced hydrophilic character. The HCLN composition, morphology and porous structure were analyzed using a multi-technique approach. The HCLN displayed a high surface area (above 1600 m2/g) and higher microporosity than the corresponding hyper-crosslinked neat resin. The enhanced adsorption properties of the HCLN towards polar organic dyes was demonstrated through the adsorption of a reactive dye, Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RB). In particular, the HCLN containing 5phr MSN showed the highest adsorption capacity of RB.