Assembly and manipulation of Fe(3)O(4)/coumarin bifunctionalized submicrometer Janus particles.

Magnetic and fluorescent bifunctionalized Janus particles were fabricated via sequential particle embedding and surface modifications. The two hemispherical surfaces of a 500 nm silica particle were separately functionalized with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and coumarin dye molecules. The Fe3O4 hemisphere exhibited magnetically driven particle orientation and alignment, whereas the coumarin hemisphere served as an anisotropic emission indicator.

Fabrication and characterization of asymmetric Janus and ternary particles.

Asymmetric Janus and ternary silica particles with an average diameter of 450 nm were fabricated by sequentially arranged particle-embedding and surface-modification processes. Thermally induced embedding of particles into polymer-fiber substrates allowed for precise control of the degree of particle submergence and the subsequent chemical modification of the hemispherical exposed particle surfaces. In addition to Janus particles with the desired surface-functionality ratios of 1:2, 1:1, and 2:1, this unique fabrication approach was also used to produce complicated and well-defined heterogeneous materials, including bifunctionalized Janus and ternary particles.