A Review on Engineering of Poly(Glycidyl Methacrylate) Microspheres

Abstract The poly(glycidyl methacrylate) microsphere (PGMA microsphere) is one of the most useful colloidal particles due to its structural arrangement. It has an easy functionalization, dispersion, adsorption and swelling properties. The PGMA was effectively used as a precursor for the development of many novel and advanced materials with enhanced properties lead to diverse applications. For instance, the incorporation of nanoparticles in PGMA exhibited progressive properties. Nevertheless, homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in polymers is not that much simple due to their tendency to get aggregate. Whereas, the homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in the PGMA is quite easy due to its grafting ability. The design, development and characterization of PGMA based novel materials for improved properties and apply those materials for diverse problems has gained a great interest among the researchers from the past one decade. This review highlights the insights on different methods of preparation of PGMA based materials to attain the desired properties and provide useful information about the characteristic features of the PGMA microspheres. This review also useful to evaluate some of the key aspects for the development of PGMA based materials and endow with new possible ways and ideas to take up some innovative research.