Magnetic polyorganosiloxane core–shell nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and magnetic fractionation

Here, we present the synthesis, characterization and magnetic separation of magnetic polyorganosiloxane nanoparticles. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with average particle radii of 3.2 nm had been synthesized by a simple coprecipitation process of iron(II) and iron(III) salt in basic solution. Afterwards, the particles were successfully incorporated into a polyorganosiloxane network via a polycondensation reaction of trimethoxymethylsilane (T), diethoxydimethylsilane (D) and the functional monomer (chloromethylphenyl)trimethoxysilane (ClBz-T) in aqueous dispersion. A core–shell system was chosen to increase the flexibility of the system concerning size, composition and functionalization possibilities. The magnetic nanocapsules with particle radii below 60 nm were separated from non-magnetic material with a high effectiveness by the use of commercially available separation columns which are commonly used for isolation of microbeads and subsequently characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF-FFF), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and Mössbauer spectroscopy.