Micron-sized silica-PNIPAM core-shell microgels with tunable shell-to-core ratio

TL;DR

This paper presents a one-pot synthesis method for creating micron-sized silica-PNIPAM core-shell microgels with precisely tunable shell-to-core ratios, suitable for optical studies of soft matter.

Contribution

The work introduces a novel synthesis protocol that allows for excellent control over the shell-to-core size ratio in micron-sized hybrid microgels.

Findings

Microgels are monodisperse and suitable for optical investigations.

The synthesis protocol enables precise control of shell-to-core ratio.

Microgels maintain structure at high packing fractions.

Abstract

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(N-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.