Thermo-responsiveness and tunable optical properties of asymmetric polystyrene/PNIPAM-gold composite particles.

Environmentally responsive polystyrene/poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)-gold composite particles are successfully synthesized via a Pickering emulsion polymerization method. It is found that the core-shell and asymmetric structured particles are simultaneously formed during the polymerization. Compared with the core-shell structured composite particles, the asymmetric particles have a higher thermo-responsiveness as a result of differences in morphology and formation mechanism.

Core-shell and asymmetric polystyrene-gold composite particles via one-step Pickering emulsion polymerization.

Core-shell structured polystyrene-gold composite particles are synthesized from one-step Pickering emulsion polymerization. The surface coverage of the core-shell composite particles is improved with increasing gold nanoparticle (AuNP) hydrophobicity and concentration. At high surface coverage, the AuNPs exhibit an ordered hexagonal pattern, likely due to electrostatic repulsion during the emulsion polymerization process.