Preparation of silica/poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) core/shell composite particles for absorption of toluene

An absorbent for benzene series with silica/poly(styrene- co -butyl acrylate) core/shell structure was prepared via emulsion polymerization. The effects of emulsifier dosage, monomer concentration, and crosslinker dosage on the absorption of the core/shell composite particles were investigated. The composite particles with good absorbency could be obtained when the emulsifier concentration was 2.5 g/L, monomer concentration was 40 g/L, crosslinker dosage was 2.0% (based on the total mass of the monomer), and the initiator dosage was 1.0%. The composite particles exhibited a rapid absorption and the absorption process conformed to the quasi-second order kinetics. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) showed the presence of copolymer layer on the surface of silica. The work provided a new path to fabricate novel composite absorbent particles for a wide range of applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46172.