Recyclable spherical polyelectrolyte brushes containing magnetic nanoparticles in core

Spherical polyelectrolyte brushes consisting of a magnetite/polystyrene nanocomposite core and a poly(acrylic acid) brush shell were prepared by photo-emulsion polymerization. They are narrowly dispersed, superparamagnetic and redispersible after aggregating by external magnetic field, as determined by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, thermal gravimetric analysis and a vibrating sample magnetometer. Magnetic control is thus introduced into nano-sized spherical polyelectrolyte brushes to achieve recovery and controllable delivery in applications. This approach opens up the way for cost-effective applications of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes.