Anionic surfactant for silica-coated polystyrene composite microspheres prepared with miniemulsion polymerization

Raspberry-like composite microspheres with polystyrene (PS) cores and silica shell were prepared through miniemulsion polymerization by using the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a surfactant and 1-vinylimidazole (1-VID) as an auxiliary monomer. The strong acid–base interaction between acidic hydroxyl groups of silica surfaces and basic amino groups of 1-VID promote the formation of long-term stable PS/SiO₂ nanocomposite microspheres. Transmission electron microscopy TEM studies indicated that the acid–base interaction between silica nanoparticles and auxiliary monomer was strong enough for the formation of colloidally stable composite microspheres, which have raspberry-like morphology. Influences of several synthetic parameters, such as initial silica amount, the amount of auxiliary monomer 1-VID, and SDS concentration on the polymerization stability, diameters, and morphology of the composite microspheres were studied. A tentative mechanism of the formation of nanocomposite particles was proposed.