Oil-absorbent beads containing β-cyclodextrin moieties: preparation via suspension polymerization and high oil absorbency

A novel type of polymeric beads with high oil absorbency was prepared via suspension polymerization technique. For this purpose, beta-cyclodextrin with vinyl groups (beta-CD-MA) was first synthesized from beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and glycidyl methacrylate, and identified by FT-IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy analyses. Suspension polymerizations were carried out with styrene and stearyl acrylate as co-monomers, beta-CD-MA as cross-linking agent, poly(vinylalcohol) as stabilizer and azoisobutyronitrile as initiator, providing polymeric beads in a quantitative yield. The oil-absorbent beads had a porous structure and exhibited high oil absorbency: 55 times the dry weight in toluene, 52 times in xylene, 75 times in CHCl3 and 102 times in CCl4. The novel beads also showed high absorbency toward toluene from a toluene/water mixture, demonstrating the potential applications of such novel oil-absorbent beads for cleaning organic contaminations from water. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.