Rapid Synthesis of Monodisperse Polystyrene Microspheres and Self-Assembly of Colloidal Crystals on Mica

Polystyrene (PS) colloidal particles were prepared in aqueous solution by a quick emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization (EFEP) method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicate that the as-synthesized particles have good sphericity and uniform size (dispersion coefficient C_v is less than 5%). The monodisperse PS microspheres with different diameter were obtained easily by varying the monomer concentration. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images show that the PS microspheres were self-assembled into three-dimensional ordered structure on micas by dropping-casting method. The self-assembly method is simple and quick. Based on the experimental results, a possible self-assembly mechanism was proposed.