Preparation of magnetic microspheres with thiol-containing polymer brushes and immobilization of gold nanoparticles in the brush layer

[Display omitted] ► Crosslinked polymer microspheres with embedded magnetite nanoparticles. ► Magnetic microspheres with polymeric brushes containing thiol groups. ► Magnetic microspheres with polymeric brushes containing gold nanoparticles. ► Gold nanoparticle-immobilized magnetic microspheres as a catalyst. Narrow-disperse magnetic microspheres were prepared by alkaline coprecipitation of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions within poly(acrylic acid–divinylbenzene) microspheres that were prepared by distillation–precipitation copolymerization. Magnetic microspheres with polymer brushes that contain epoxy groups were prepared by graft copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate and glycerol monomethacrylate via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from the magnetic microsphere surfaces. Subsequently, magnetic microspheres with thiol-containing polymer brushes were prepared by treating the epoxy group-containing magnetic microspheres with sodium hydrosulfide. Gold nanoparticles were immobilized in the brush layer of the thiol-containing magnetic microspheres through Au–S coordination. The catalytic activity of the gold nanoparticle-immobilized magnetic microspheres was investigated using the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol with sodium borohydride as a model reaction. The catalyst could be reused for over 10 cycles without noticeable loss of catalytic activity.