One‐Step Synthesis of Fluorescent Poly(divinylbenzene) Particles without Fluorescent Monomers

A simple and cost‐efficient method for fluorescent microsphere synthesis, which does not require any fluorescent monomers or modification steps to incorporate fluorescent moieties into the polymer particles, is reported. Using rhodamine B and benzophenone as bimolecular initiation system in type II photoinitiated precipitation polymerization, the method enables the preparation of fluorescent microspheres in one step, at room temperature and without the need for a stabilizer or surfactant of any type. Previous strategies to synthesize fluorescent particles involve the use of fluorescent monomers or post modification steps to incorporate fluorescent moieties into the polymer particles. This work demonstrates that rhodamine B, without the necessity to use its corresponding monomer, can be used to synthesize fluorescent polymer particles, when used in combination with benzophenone, as bimolecular photoinitiation system in precipitation polymerization.