The functionalization of polystyrene/poly(ethylene glycol) TentaGel® microbeads (d = 20 μm) 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.
Scheme of the formation of bis‐terpyridine‐metal complexes bound to polystyrene/poly(ethylene glycol) TentaGel® microbeads.
