Royal Society of Chemistry, RSC Advances, 106(4), p. 61863-61868
DOI: 10.1039/c4ra09044f
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The present paper describes a versatile route to modify and stabilize ceria nanoparticles with a radical initiator, 4,4′-Azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid) (ACVA), allowing a strong interface to be formed via grafting of polymers from the surface. This leads to the successful encapsulation of cerium oxides nanoparticles in a poly-(methyl methacrylate) matrix. The interaction between the radical initiator and the surface of ceria is studied by FTIR spectroscopy where a consistent shift of the carboxylate band, unequivocally demonstrates that the carboxylate groups of this acidic initiator complex the cerium ions on ceria surface by means of strong and stable ionic bonding.