One-step fabrication and further modification of poly (acrylonitrile-co-vinyl acetate) microsphere

Bulk quantities of microspheres have been successfully fabricated from the random poly (acrylonitrile-co-vinyl acetate) under shear-inducement through the one-step self-assembly of the copolymeric chains in DMF-H₂O media. With the increase of the water content, the copolymeric chains start to aggregate and form the small particles with nanometer scale, then assemble together to form microspheres. Also, the shear inducement is important for the construction of the poly (acrylonitrile-co-vinyl acetate) microspheres, the size and morphology of which can be controlled by adjusting the stirring rate. The results in this study could inspire us to construct and develop more novel morphologic structure from familiar or traditional polymer systems. By virtue of the electronegative group (−CN) on their surfaces, these as-fabricated poly (acrylonitrile-co-vinyl acetate) microspheres are further modified readily with silver and polypyrrole nanoparticles to prepare two kinds of composites, which would have potential applications in a wide variety of areas such as wave absorbent, catalysis, analyte sensor, and so on.