Abstract
Copolymer containing both pH and thermo sensitive properties are very much interesting due to their broad nature to various stimuli. Further, the incorporation of inorganic nanoparticles into stimuli responsive copolymers enhances their utility in different applied nature properties. In the present work such an attempt is made to synthesize copolymer of N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) and Methacrylic acid (MAA) with CdS nanoparticles. The copolymer of N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) and Methacrylic acid (MAA) was prepared through emulsion polymerization technique with various compositions and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The microspheres thus prepared were employed as micro-reactors for the deposition of semiconductor cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles. The obtained composite was characterized using optical, structural and thermal techniques. The micro gels were found to be stable up to 200 degrees C. The crystal structure and grain size of Cadmium sulfide-poly (isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) [CdS-P(NIPAM-co-MAA)] hybrid micro gels was studied by using X - ray Diffraction. UV - Visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy was engaged to get the optical properties of the samples. It was found that the synthesized nanoparticles have a blue shift (higher energy) at about 360 nm which may be due to the typical quantum confinement effects.