A novel approach to the construction of 3-D ordered macrostructures with polyhedral particles

作者:Deng Yonghui*; Liu Chong; Liu Jia; Zhang Fan; Yu Ting; Zhang Fuqiang; Gu Dong; Zhao Dongyuan
来源:Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2008, 18(4): 408-415.
DOI:10.1039/b714288a

摘要

A novel and facile approach was developed for the fabrication of 3-D ordered macrostructures of polyhedral particles through coating and packing of monodisperse polystyrene-co-poly[3-(trimethoxylsilyl) propyl methacrylate] (St-co-TMSPM) microspheres with the amphiphilic triblock copolymer F127 and phenolic resol by centrifugation, and subsequent thermosetting treatment of the deposited microspheres. The polyhedral particles possess a regular shape of rhombic dodecahedra (similar to 1 mu m) due to the spontaneous deformation of the fcc packed polymeric microspheres coated with resol-F127 composites during the thermosetting process. The amphiphilic triblock copolymer F127 plays a vital role in the formation of the ordered macrostructured polyhedral particles with compatible poly(St-co-TMSPM)-resin composites. The simplicity of the fabrication method should open up a new door to the synthesis of nonspherical particles and the construction of ordered macrostructures that possess unique properties for potential application in various fields such as photonic crystals.