Anisotropic Hollow Microgels That Can Adapt Their Size, Shape, and Softness
(2019) In Nano Letters- Abstract
The development of soft anisotropic building blocks is of great interest for various applications in soft matter. Furthermore, such systems would be important model systems for ordering phenomena in fundamental soft matter science. In this work, we address the challenge of creating hollow and anisotropically shaped thermoresponsive microgels, polymeric networks with a solvent filled cavity in their center that are swollen in a good solvent. Sacrificial elliptical hematite silica particles were utilized as a template for the synthesis of a cross-linked N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) shell. By varying the amount of NIPAm, two anisotropic microgels were synthesized with either a thin or thick microgel shell. We characterized these precursor... (More)
The development of soft anisotropic building blocks is of great interest for various applications in soft matter. Furthermore, such systems would be important model systems for ordering phenomena in fundamental soft matter science. In this work, we address the challenge of creating hollow and anisotropically shaped thermoresponsive microgels, polymeric networks with a solvent filled cavity in their center that are swollen in a good solvent. Sacrificial elliptical hematite silica particles were utilized as a template for the synthesis of a cross-linked N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) shell. By varying the amount of NIPAm, two anisotropic microgels were synthesized with either a thin or thick microgel shell. We characterized these precursor core-shell and the resulting hollow microgels using a combination of light, X-ray, and neutron scattering. New form factor models, accounting for the cavity, the polymer distribution and the anisotropy, have been developed for fitting the scattering data. With such models, we demonstrated the existence of the cavity and simultaneously the anisotropic character of the microgels. Furthermore, we show that the thickness of the shell has a major influence on the shape and the cavity dimension of the microgel after etching of the sacrificial core. Finally, the effect of temperature is investigated, showing that changes in size, softness, and aspect ratio are triggered by temperature.
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- author
- Nickel, Anne C. ; Scotti, Andrea LU ; Houston, Judith E. ; Ito, Thiago LU ; Crassous, Jérôme LU ; Pedersen, Jan Skov and Richtering, Walter
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- anisotropic colloids, anisotropic microgels, Microgels, small-angle neutron scattering, soft matter, thermoresponsive polymer
- in
- Nano Letters
- article number
- 9b03507
- publisher
- The American Chemical Society (ACS)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85073869913
- pmid:31613114
- ISSN
- 1530-6984
- DOI
- 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03507
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e1179a67-6e94-4b7a-833d-b30285cb42d5
- date added to LUP
- 2019-11-07 12:47:49
- date last changed
- 2024-07-24 08:23:45
@article{e1179a67-6e94-4b7a-833d-b30285cb42d5,
abstract = {{<p>The development of soft anisotropic building blocks is of great interest for various applications in soft matter. Furthermore, such systems would be important model systems for ordering phenomena in fundamental soft matter science. In this work, we address the challenge of creating hollow and anisotropically shaped thermoresponsive microgels, polymeric networks with a solvent filled cavity in their center that are swollen in a good solvent. Sacrificial elliptical hematite silica particles were utilized as a template for the synthesis of a cross-linked N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) shell. By varying the amount of NIPAm, two anisotropic microgels were synthesized with either a thin or thick microgel shell. We characterized these precursor core-shell and the resulting hollow microgels using a combination of light, X-ray, and neutron scattering. New form factor models, accounting for the cavity, the polymer distribution and the anisotropy, have been developed for fitting the scattering data. With such models, we demonstrated the existence of the cavity and simultaneously the anisotropic character of the microgels. Furthermore, we show that the thickness of the shell has a major influence on the shape and the cavity dimension of the microgel after etching of the sacrificial core. Finally, the effect of temperature is investigated, showing that changes in size, softness, and aspect ratio are triggered by temperature.</p>}},
author = {{Nickel, Anne C. and Scotti, Andrea and Houston, Judith E. and Ito, Thiago and Crassous, Jérôme and Pedersen, Jan Skov and Richtering, Walter}},
issn = {{1530-6984}},
keywords = {{anisotropic colloids; anisotropic microgels; Microgels; small-angle neutron scattering; soft matter; thermoresponsive polymer}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
series = {{Nano Letters}},
title = {{Anisotropic Hollow Microgels That Can Adapt Their Size, Shape, and Softness}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03507}},
doi = {{10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03507}},
year = {{2019}},
}