Copolymers with fluorescence properties in mesoporous silica SBA-15:Synthesis and characterization

A novel copolymer with fluorescence properties in mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared via a combination of surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT) polymerization and "click" chemistry.A sufficient amount of peroxide groups were introduced into mesoporous silica SBA-15 channel pores and were further used to initiate the RAFT polymerization of styrene and 4-vinylbenzyl azide,resulting in SBA-15 supported polystyrene-co-poly(4-vinylbenzyl azide) copolymer(PS-co-PVBA/SBA-15) hybrid material.The samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),thermogravimetry analysis(TGA),N_2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and X-ray diffraction(XRD),respectively.The results show that the styrene and 4-vinylbenzyl azide had copolymerized inside mesoporous silica SBA-15.Subsequently,Npropargyl-carbazole(PC) was connected to PS-co-PVBA/SBA-15 hybrid material via "click" reaction,resulting in PS-co-PVBC/SBA-15 with carbazole side groups hybrid material.The fluorescence spectrum is dominated by a broad band from 350 nm to 400 nm in narrow region and the maximum peak is 362 nm,indicating the characteristic absorption of the carbazole group of PS-co-PVBC/SBA-15 hybrid material.