Synthesis of TiO2 Hybrid Molecular Imprinted Nanospheres Linked by Silane Coupling Agent

This article presents work on designing TiO2 hybrid MIP nanospheres via precipitation polymerization using methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer and silane coupling agent 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propylmethacrylate (KH570) as organic-inorganic connective bridge. Hydrogen bond was proved to act between MAA and template bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) for pre- and post-polymerization as testified by infrared spectrometry (IR). Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the adsorption kinetics experiments as well as IR were employed for characterization. The results indicated that the TiO2 hybrid MIP nanospheres revealed a more irregular shape and smaller average size compared to organic-only MIP nanospheres. Furthermore, faster adsorption kinetics was achieved, which made it promising in chemical sensor applications.