Preparation and characterization of core/shell particles with siloxane in the shell

The core/shell particles consisting of polystyrene core and 3-(methacryloxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPS) shell were prepared in the present study by successive seeding polymerization under kinetically controlled conditions and were characterized by particle size analyser, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The TEM image indicated that the particles containing organic siloxane presented an evident core/shell structure. Additionally, the study of XPS also revealed that MPS could be grafted onto the surface of polystyrene microspheres and the atomic ratio of C/Si on the surface of the core/shell particles (MPS-40) was very close to the ratio of C/Si in the molecule of MPS. The surface properties of the films produced from the core/shell particles were also investigated by the static contact angle method. Compared with the homopolymer of PS, the core/shell particles were more effective to create hydrophobic surface, so, the introduction of MPS was capable of obvious increase in water repellency.