The organic/inorganic hybrid microspheres with supracolloidal structure prepared by Pickering emulsion droplet template

Abstract

The organic/inorganic hybrid core-shell microspheres fabricated by Pickering emulsion droplet template are attracting more attentions. The microspheres obtained by this method have a supracolloidal structure, which endows the microspheres with some special functions. In a Pickering emulsion, colloid particles adsorb on the surface of the emulsion droplets and self-assemble into an ordered spherical solid shell. Then, the colloid particles are fixed to prepare the core-shell microparticles or microcapsules. The microcapsules with the shell of colloid particles are also called the colloidosomes. In this paper, we summarize the research about using the Pickering emulsion droplet template to fabricate the organic/inorganic hybrid core-shell colloidosomes, including the supracolloidal-structured microsphere. The different organic core matrices, inorganic colloid particles and the fixing methods of colloid particles on the surface of the emulsion droplets have been chosen to obtain the colloidosomes or the supracolloidal-structured microsphere with the different structures and properties. We also fabricate dual nanocomposite multihollow polymer microspheres by suspension polymerization based on a multiple Pickering emulsion.