Preparation of Al@Fe₂O₃ core-shell composites using amphiphilic graft copolymer template

A graft copolymer of poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVC-g-POEM) was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and used as a structure-directing agent to prepare Al@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanocomposites through a sol-gel process. The amphiphilic property of PVC-g-POEM allows for good dispersion of Al particles and leads to specific interaction with iron ethoxide, a precursor of Fe₂O₃. Secondary bonding interaction in the sol-gel composites was characterized by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The wellorganized morphology of Al@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanocomposites was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the elemental composition and crystallization structure of the composites.