(409a) Latex/Vesicle Templated Synthesis of Hollow Inorganic Nanoparticles

Hollow inorganic nanospheres exhibit catalytic activities and properties from their solid counterparts with the advantages of high surface area and low density. This research focuses on the development of facile scalable methods for the fabrication of porous hollow inorganic spheres using equilibrium catanionic vesicles and amidine functionalized polystyrene latex as templates. Catanionic vesicles [Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB), Sodium Perfluorooctanate (FC7)] and amidine functionalized polystyrene latex with the same size (≈ 90nm) and concentration were the tools in order to study the behavior of acid catalyzed hydrolysis of Tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and Dihydroxybis(ammonium lactato)titanium(IV) (TALH) as precursors for the formation of the inorganic shell. The vesicle size was tuned by the composition ratio of the two surfactants CTAB and FC7 and characterized by using Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM), Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), and Dynamic Light Scattering. By tuning pH, precursor's concentration and template population we can control shell thickness of the inorganic hollow particle and also minimize the gel formation. Multiple inorganic layers were fabricated by surface functionalization of the previous inorganic deposition on the vesicular template. Silica and Titania hollow particles were calcined and characterized with Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)