Development and characterization of a novel conductive polyaniline-g-polystyrene/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite for the treatment of cancer

Abstract

The goal of this study is to synthesize, characterize and investigate some physicochemical properties of conductive polyaniline-g-polystyrene/Fe₃O₄ (Fe₃O₄/PSt-g-PANi) nanocomposites. For this purpose, initially, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized by a co-precipitation method. Then, the desired nanocomposite was synthesized in two steps. First, the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene was performed using an ATRP initiator attached to the surface of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, followed by functionalization of the Fe₃O₄-PSt with amine groups (–NH₂). Second, surface oxidative graft copolymerization of aniline was accomplished using the –NH₂ moieties on the Fe₃O₄/PSt-NH₂ as the anchoring sites. The prepared materials were characterized by various instruments, including TEM, SEM, TGA, EDX, FT-IR, XRD and conductivity measurements. The results indicated that the synthesized conductive polymer/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites had higher electrical conductivity and thermal resistance than those of the corresponding homopolymers.

Keywords:

• Graft copolymer
• Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles
• atom transfer radical polymerization
• nanocomposite

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.