Synthesis of raspberry‐like silica/polystyrene/silica multilayer hybrid particles via miniemulsion polymerization

Abstract

Abstract Organic–inorganic hybrid particles have many potential applications, but almost all research has been focused on hybrid particles with one kind of inorganic nanoparticle. This article presents a novel and facile preparation approach for raspberry‐like silica/polystyrene/silica multilayer hybrid particles via miniemulsion polymerization. In this method, larger, surface‐modified silica particles are first dispersed into monomer droplets to form a miniemulsion, and then raspberry‐like silica/polystyrene/silica multilayer hybrid particles are directly obtained when miniemulsion polymerization is performed in the presence of smaller, unmodified silica particles with 4‐vinylpyridine as an auxiliary monomer. Influential parameters such as the amount of 4‐vinylpyridine, the surfactant concentration, and the pH value of the system have been investigated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1028–1037, 2007