Design, Fabrication and Applications of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Systems

A simple and facile way to the fabrication of nano to micro scale organic-inorganic hybrid particles was demonstrated. A well known “template-assisted approach” was chosen for the preparation of these hybrid particles, in which the inorganic material of interest is templated against the template particles. A series of colloidal template particles including, polystyrene, poly (vinylcaprolactam) and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) was used for the deposition of a variety of metal oxides/hydroxide nanoparticles. A classical surfactant free co-polymerization process was employed for the synthesis of these template particles. To facilitate the deposition of inorganic nanoparticles in subsequent steps, these colloidal particles were functionalized with the suitable functional groups. For this purpose, polystyrene particles were synthesized in the presence of acetoacetoxyethylmethacrylate (AAEM) co-monomer. Similarly, poly (vinylcaprolactam) and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) particles were functionalized by adding AAEM and acrylic acid co-monomers, respectively, during their synthesis. It is thought that an effective interaction between these functionalities of employed template and metal oxide/hydroxide precursors is the driving force for the fabrication of organic-inorganic hybrid particles. A number of metal oxide/hydroxide nanoparticles including ZnO, TiO2, Ta2O5 and In(OH)3 were deposited on the surface of polystyrene colloidal particles. A systematic variation in the employed reaction conditions allowed a modulation in size, shape, morphology, shell thickness and inorganic contents of resulting hybrid particles. Similar effect of the employed Indium isopropoxide concentration on the morphology of PS-In(OH)3 hybrid particles was observed. In the case of PS-TiO2 and PS-Ta2O5 only core-shell morphology was observed. However, suitable surface chemistry and careful selection of reaction parameters allowed the deposition of as much thick as 130 nm TiO2/Ta2O5 shell on the polystyrene core. In addition, a controlled manipulation of the shell thickness with the employed concentration of inorganic salt was observed. Polystyrene colloidal particles coated with a high refractive index material such as TiO2, were employed as building blocks for the fabrication of self assembled colloidal crystals. The variation in particle size and TiO2 content of employed building blocks allowed the manipulation in stop band position and band width of resulting photonic structures. Furthermore, PS-ZnO hybrid particles with raspberry-like morphology were exploited as carrier for ZnO nanoparticles into a host polymer matrix to achieve a nanocomposite material. In addition, fabrication of a series of closed, intact and mechanically robust hollow spheres, composed of pure and mixed metal oxides was demonstrated. The removal of polystyrene core from PS-TiO2 and PS-Ta2O5 hybrid particles by chemical or thermal treatment resulted into the hollow TiO2 and Ta2O5 spheres, respectively. Templating of PVCL colloidal particles against ZnO nanoparticles was shown and variation in physical properties of the resulting hybrid microgels as a function of the loaded amount of ZnO nanoparticles was demonstrated. PVCL-ZnO hybrid microgels showed the temperature sensitivity of the template particles and the UV-absorbing property of the loaded ZnO nanoparticles. It was demonstrated that these hybrid materials can effectively be used in the preparation of a transparent UV-shielding material. In addition, the deposition of preformed and functionalized quantum dots (CdTe) on the surface of PNIPAm microgel particles was explored and a manipulation in the fluorescent properties of loaded quantum dots as a result of temperature induced swelling and deswelling of microgel template was investigated. It was found that the fluorescence of deposited quantum dots can be switched to “ON” or “OFF” by changing the temperature of the surrounding media. These hybrid particles are envisioned to be used in the fabrication of temperature nanosensors