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Silica nanoparticle covered with mixed polymer brushes as Janus particles at water/oil interface

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Abstract

Silica nanoparticles (NSiO2) are modified with mixed polymer brushes derived from a block copolymer precursor, poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-b-poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) with short middle segment of PGMA, through one step “grafting-onto” approach. The block polymer precursors are prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer-based polymerization of methyl methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, and tert-butyl methacrylate. The grafting is achieved by the reaction of epoxy group in short PGMA segment with silanol functionality of silica. After hydrolysis of poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) segment, amphiphilic NSiO2 with “V-shaped” polymer brushes possessing exact 1:1 molar ratio of different arms were prepared. The functionalized particles self-assemble at oil/water interfaces to form stable large droplets with average diameter ranging from 0.15 ± 0.06 to 2.6 ± 0.75 mm. The amphiphilicity of the particles can be finely tuned by changing the relative lengths of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(methacrylic acid) segments, resulting in different assembly behavior. The method may serve as a general way to control the surface property of the particles.

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Acknowledgment

This work is subsidized by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2008AA032102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Yizheng Wang, Junpo He & Yuliang Yang

  2. Department of Material Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Deqin Fan

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  1. Yizheng Wang
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  2. Deqin Fan
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  3. Junpo He
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Correspondence to Junpo He.

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Wang, Y., Fan, D., He, J. et al. Silica nanoparticle covered with mixed polymer brushes as Janus particles at water/oil interface. Colloid Polym Sci 289, 1885–1894 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-011-2506-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-011-2506-9

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