Hybrid Core@Soft Shell Particles as Adhesive Elementary Building Blocks for Colloidal Crystals

Abstract

Hybrid materials have been developed through the synthesis of colloidal silica surrounded by elastomer polymer brushes. These core@shell materials have been achieved by the use of “nitroxide-mediated polymerization” (NMP) associated with a “grafting from” method. The living and controlled characteristics of the polymerization allow TEM observations of well-monodisperse core@shell nanohybrids. We present herein the synthetic process to create homogeneous smoothness particles surface associated with a strong adhesive property. The brush thickness is tuned in order to compare with molecular dynamic equations through the tailoring of the grafting density and the molecular weight. Finally, these particles were used as elementary adhesive building blocks and self-assembled by a dip-coating process to form a monolayered material. Its diffraction under light is described on a large-scale material as well as the elastomeric polymer brushes layer influence.