Preparation of hollow poly (styrene-co-divinylbenzene) particles with variable cavity sizes and further fabrication of hollow TiO2 particles using solid poly (styrene-co-divinylbenzene) particles as templates

Facile preparation route toward speckled colloids via seeded polymerization

A facile method to prepare monodisperse speckled colloids has been developed via one-step seeded polymerization from noncross-linked latex particles. It was found that both cross-linking agents in the added monomer mixture and charged initiation species are essential for the formation of speckles on composite latex particle surface in seeded polymerization. The size and number density of speckles on the surface are tunable by adjusting the concentration of surfactant. A possible mechanism for the formation of such speckled colloids has been proposed based on a series of control experiments. Speckled colloidal particles were used as substrates for the adsorption of tobacco mosaic virus, and a much stronger adsorption was observed compared to smooth particles, implying a potential application of these speckled particles in virus collection and more.

One-pot synthesis of highly folded microparticles by suspension polymerization

A facile method of preparing highly folded cross-linked polymeric microparticles has been developed via one-pot suspension polymerization under high-speed homogenization. The wrinkles result from the evaporation of solvent in the cross-linked microparticles. The effects of microparticle cross-linking density and solvent on the polymer have been studied in detail. It was found that a medium cross-linking density (DVB/St = 0.5 by weight) is optimal for producing the most folded surface and the higher the solvent content, the deeper the surface wrinkles. This method is very simple and in principle can be applied to produce wrinkled microparticles with other chemical compositions.