Control of the Shell Thickness of TiO2 SiO2 Particles and Its Surface Functionalization

TiO2 SiO2 yolk/core shell particles were obtained by a sol-gel polymerization. The shell thickness of TiO2 SiO2 can successfully be controlled by sol-gel reaction times. The anatase structure of TiO2 SiO2 was more stable than that of TiO2 particles calcinated at higher temperature. Moreover, acrylate-functionalized TiO2 SiO2 particles were also successfully synthesized using the TiO2 SiO2 particles as building blocks by copolymerization of trimethoxysilyl groups of MPA with the existing hydroxyl groups on the surface of TiO2 SiO2 particles. Furthermore, TEM, EDX, and FTIR studies confirmed that MPA had been successfully grafted to the surface of TiO2 SiO2 particles. Finally, we believe that the present results showing the development of surface functionalized particles can be very useful in the fields of various functional applications, and could be extended to more sophisticated hybrid materials.The fabrication of functional hollow particles is of great scientific and technological interest for purposes of applications ranging from drug delivery, coatings, photonic devices, and nanoscale reaction vessels. Various methods, including approaches such as spray drying, emulsion templating techniques, and self-assembly processes, have been described for the preparation of hollow spheres out of latex, metal, and inorganic materials