One-Pot Preparation of Organic-Inorganic Composite Microspheres Comprising Silica Nanoparticles and End-Functionalized Polymers

Colloidal assemblies of inorganic nanoparticles dispersed in liquid media hold particular promise for the creation of a unique class of functional materials with innovative applications. In the present report, "compound-eye"-like core-shell and Janus-type silica and amino-terminated 1,2-polybutadiene (PB-NH₂) and polystyrene (PS) composite microspheres are successfully prepared by simply mixing an aqueous dispersion of silica particles into a tetrahydrofran (THF) solution of PB-NH₂, and PB-NH₂ and PS blends, followed by evaporation of the THF. This co-precipitation process provides a new approach for producing organic-inorganic composite particles without the need for surface modification of the inorganic nanoparticles. "Compound-eye"-like core-shell and Janus-type silica and amino-terminated 1,2-polybutadiene (PB-NH₂) composite microspheres are successfully prepared by simply mixing an aqueous dispersion of silica particles into a tetrahydrofran (THF) solution of PB-NH₂ and PB-NH₂ and PS blends, followed by evaporation of the THF.