November 6, 1998Science4,126 citations
Nanoengineering of Inorganic and Hybrid Hollow Spheres by Colloidal Templating
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Key Points
- To explore the fabrication of hollow silica and silica-polymer spheres using colloidal templating techniques.
- Fabrication involved assembling silica nanoparticles and polymer onto colloids.
- Subsequent removal of templated colloid was achieved through calcination or decomposition in solvents.
- Electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize the hollow spheres.
- The wall thickness of the hollow spheres can be controlled by adjusting the number of deposition cycles.
- The morphology of the templating colloid determines the size and shape of the produced hollow spheres.
- Applications of the hollow spheres extend to medicine, pharmaceutics, and materials science.
Abstract
Hollow silica and silica-polymer spheres with diameters between 720 and 1000 nanometers were fabricated by consecutively assembling silica nanoparticles and polymer onto colloids and subsequently removing the templated colloid either by calcination or decomposition upon exposure to solvents. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the wall thickness of the hollow spheres can be readily controlled by varying the number of nanoparticle-polymer deposition cycles, and the size and shape are determined by the morphology of the templating colloid. The hollow spheres produced are envisioned to have applications in areas ranging from medicine to pharmaceutics to materials science.
Cite This Study
Caruso et al. (1998) studied this question.