Synthesis of Well-Defined PS/Modified MCM-41 Nanocomposites via In situAtom Transfer Radical Polymerization

In recent years,polymer-silica composites structured by ordered mesoporous silica have gained attention for the development of specific materials for bimolecular adsorption[1], and enzyme immobilization [2]. As a member of this series, MCM-41 has high specific surface area, uniform nanoscale pore sizes, and a high concentration of surface hydroxyl groups [3-4]. In this work, PS/MCM-41 nanocomposites were prepared via atom transfer radical olymerization (ATRP) which is arguably the most promising controlled/living radical polymerization (CLRP) technique with respect to obtaining tailor-made polymers. The effect ofnanoparticle on the thermal and physical properties of nanocomposites also investigated