A versatile synthesis of pH-responsive poly(styrene-block-acrylic acid) (poly(St-b-AA)) diblock
copolymer modified Fe3O4 magnetite nanocomposite (poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4) was performed
for pharmaceutical removal application. For this purpose, the diblock copolymer poly(St-b-AA) 2
was synthesized via reversible addition of fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization
technique. This synthesized copolymer with –COOH groups were adsorbed onto the surface of
Fe3O4 to produce poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4 nanocomposite, which was then used as adsorbent to
remove penicillin G. The synthesis of polystyrene homopolymer poly(St) (macro-RAFT agent)
and poly(St-b-AA) diblock copolymer was confirmed by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and
1
H nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR). The poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4 nanocomposite was
characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction
(XRD), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), FTIR and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis.
After that the poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4 was applied to remove penicillin G an antibiotic from
aqueous solution. The findings indicate that the optimal conditions for maximum penicillin G
removal were pH 11, initial penicillin concentration 50 mg/L, poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4 dose 0.5
g/L and contact time 50 min. Under such conditions, the extent of penicillin G removal was
99.99%. Based on the obtained results, it is found that the poly(St-b-AA)@Fe3O4 adsorbent can
be used as an effective adsorbent for removing penicillin G from aqueous solutions
