Colloidal nanocomposite hydrogel particles

Quaternary ammonium salt, (3-acrylamidopropyl)-trimethylammonium chloride was used to synthesize nanohydrogel and composite particles such as inorganic-organic hybrid composites and hydrogel nanoparticles with magnetic properties utilizing a water-in-oil microemulsion system. The positively charged cationic monomer was chosen to promote silica hydrolysis and condensation to prepare silica-hydrogel nanocomposite particles with interesting morphologies. It was shown that highly monodisperse, completely charged nanohydrogel can be used to encapsulate ferrite particles. Furthermore, it was also confirmed that cationic nanohydrogel particles with variant morphology can be prepared by employing suitable silica precursor. Morphology, structure, properties, and size of nanocomposite materials were explored utilizing transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer.