Micron-Sized Silica-PNIPAM Core-Shell Microgels with Tunable Shell-To-Core Ratio
Micron-sized hard core-soft shell hybrid microgels are promising model systems for studies of soft matter as they enable in-situ optical investigations and their structures/morphologies can be engineered with a great variety. Yet, protocols that yield micron-sized core-shell microgels with a tailora...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Gels |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/8/516 |
| Summary: | Micron-sized hard core-soft shell hybrid microgels are promising model systems for studies of soft matter as they enable in-situ optical investigations and their structures/morphologies can be engineered with a great variety. Yet, protocols that yield micron-sized core-shell microgels with a tailorable shell-to-core size ratio are rarely available. In this work, we report on the one-pot synthesis protocol for micron-sized silica-poly(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) core-shell microgels that has excellent control over the shell-to-core ratio. Small-angle light scattering and microscopy of 2- and 3-dimensional assemblies of the synthesized microgels confirm that the produced microgels are monodisperse and suitable for optical investigation even at high packing fractions. |
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| ISSN: | 2310-2861 |