Terpyridine-functionalized tentagel microbeads: synthesis, metal chelation and first sequential complexation

The functionalization of polystyrene/poly(ethylene glycol) TentaGel® microbeads (d = 20 m) with 2,2:6,2-terpyridine units is described resulting in a material with easily accessible ligands which possess an excellent affinity for transition metal ions. The subsequent loading with different metal ions via metal-to-ligand complexation yielded the corresponding CoII, NiII, FeII, and CuII modified beads. The isolated materials were investigated in detail utilizing UV/vis spectroscopy, optical microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Moreover, grafting of free terpyridine moieties via ruthenium(II)/ruthenium(III)-chemistry onto the beads is demonstrated. This opens-up new pathways for the selective modification of such microbeads and the preparation of functional materials.