Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures

Microspheres with well-defined hollow structures have been attracting interest due to their unique morphology and fascinating properties. Herein, a strategy for morphology and size control of hollow polymer@silica microspheres is proposed. Multilayer core–shell polymer microspheres, containing subst...

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Main Authors: Mingxiu Jiang, Yuanyuan Yang, Jiawei Feng, Zhaopan Wang, Wei Deng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Molecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/4/954
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author Mingxiu Jiang
Yuanyuan Yang
Jiawei Feng
Zhaopan Wang
Wei Deng
author_facet Mingxiu Jiang
Yuanyuan Yang
Jiawei Feng
Zhaopan Wang
Wei Deng
author_sort Mingxiu Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Microspheres with well-defined hollow structures have been attracting interest due to their unique morphology and fascinating properties. Herein, a strategy for morphology and size control of hollow polymer@silica microspheres is proposed. Multilayer core–shell polymer microspheres, containing substantial carboxyl groups inside, evolve into microspheres with a 304 nm hollow structure after alkali treatment, which are used to construct hollow polymer@silica microspheres by coating the inorganic layer using the layer-by-layer (LBL) and sol–gel methods, respectively. The inorganic shell thickness of hollow polymer@silica microspheres can be adjusted from 15 nm to 33 nm by the self-assembled layers in the LBL method and from 15 nm to 63 nm by the dosage of precursor in the sol–gel method. Compared to the LBL method, the hollow polymer@silica microspheres prepared via the sol–gel method have a uniform and dense inorganic shell, thus ensuring the complete spherical morphology of the microspheres after calcination, even if the inorganic shell thickness is only 15 nm. Moreover, the hollow polymer@silica microspheres prepared via the sol–gel method exhibit improved compression resistance and good opacity, remaining intact at 16,000 psi and providing the corresponding coating with transmittance lower than 35.1%. This work highlights the morphology regulation of microspheres prepared by different methods and provides useful insights for the design of composites microspheres with controllable structures.
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spelling doaj-art-ad4530e6821f4e77ace2d50d6e7fa6db2025-08-20T03:12:22ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-02-0130495410.3390/molecules30040954Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow StructuresMingxiu Jiang0Yuanyuan Yang1Jiawei Feng2Zhaopan Wang3Wei Deng4School of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, ChinaSchool of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, ChinaSchool of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, ChinaSchool of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, ChinaSchool of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150040, ChinaMicrospheres with well-defined hollow structures have been attracting interest due to their unique morphology and fascinating properties. Herein, a strategy for morphology and size control of hollow polymer@silica microspheres is proposed. Multilayer core–shell polymer microspheres, containing substantial carboxyl groups inside, evolve into microspheres with a 304 nm hollow structure after alkali treatment, which are used to construct hollow polymer@silica microspheres by coating the inorganic layer using the layer-by-layer (LBL) and sol–gel methods, respectively. The inorganic shell thickness of hollow polymer@silica microspheres can be adjusted from 15 nm to 33 nm by the self-assembled layers in the LBL method and from 15 nm to 63 nm by the dosage of precursor in the sol–gel method. Compared to the LBL method, the hollow polymer@silica microspheres prepared via the sol–gel method have a uniform and dense inorganic shell, thus ensuring the complete spherical morphology of the microspheres after calcination, even if the inorganic shell thickness is only 15 nm. Moreover, the hollow polymer@silica microspheres prepared via the sol–gel method exhibit improved compression resistance and good opacity, remaining intact at 16,000 psi and providing the corresponding coating with transmittance lower than 35.1%. This work highlights the morphology regulation of microspheres prepared by different methods and provides useful insights for the design of composites microspheres with controllable structures.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/4/954hollow structuredouble-shell structurecomposite microspheresmorphology controlcompression resistance
spellingShingle Mingxiu Jiang
Yuanyuan Yang
Jiawei Feng
Zhaopan Wang
Wei Deng
Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
Molecules
hollow structure
double-shell structure
composite microspheres
morphology control
compression resistance
title Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
title_full Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
title_fullStr Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
title_full_unstemmed Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
title_short Construction and Regulation of Polymer@Silica Microspheres with Double-Shell Hollow Structures
title_sort construction and regulation of polymer silica microspheres with double shell hollow structures
topic hollow structure
double-shell structure
composite microspheres
morphology control
compression resistance
url https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/4/954
work_keys_str_mv AT mingxiujiang constructionandregulationofpolymersilicamicrosphereswithdoubleshellhollowstructures
AT yuanyuanyang constructionandregulationofpolymersilicamicrosphereswithdoubleshellhollowstructures
AT jiaweifeng constructionandregulationofpolymersilicamicrosphereswithdoubleshellhollowstructures
AT zhaopanwang constructionandregulationofpolymersilicamicrosphereswithdoubleshellhollowstructures
AT weideng constructionandregulationofpolymersilicamicrosphereswithdoubleshellhollowstructures