Facile fabrication and self-assembly of polystyrene–silica asymmetric colloid spheres

This study presents a very simple method to fabricate organic–inorganic asymmetric colloid spheres. In this approach, when silica particles are used as the Pickering emulsifier to stabilize the monomer droplets (styrene) in water via acid–base interaction between silica particles and auxiliary monomer (1-vinylimidazole), the exposed surfaces of silica particles are very easy to be locally modified with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate. When water-based initiator is added, polystyrene–silica asymmetric colloid spheres are highly yielded. The sizes of silica and polymer particles can be tunable. These organic–inorganic anisotropic colloid spheres can self-assemble into an interesting thickness-dependent film. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011