Preparation of Raspberry-Like Adsorbed Silica Nanoparticles via Miniemulsion Polymerization Using a Glycerol-Functionalized Silica Sol

A series of polymer/SiO2 organic-inorganic composite microspheres were successfully prepared through miniemulsion polymerization. A TEM study indicated that the composite microspheres had raspberry-like morphology and silica particles were successfully deposited onto the surfaces of organic polymer microspheres. The average particle size and the silica content of composite microspheres could range from 180 nm to 240 nm and 15 ∼ 35 wt%, respectively. The influence of reaction conditions such as the amount of emulsifier, the sonification frequency and sonification time, the amount of silica sol, butyl acrylate (BA) on the particle size, silica content and morphology of composite microspheres have been studied.