Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.245, No.1, 68-74, 2002
Characterization of nanostructured hollow polymer spheres with small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)
Hollow polymer spheres synthesized from a vesicle-directed polymerization can be dried and redispersed in water using a variety, of nonionic ethoxylated alcohol surfactants as stabilizers. The final dispersions consist of both polymer shells and surfactant micelles, which remain together in colloidal suspension for at least several months. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is used to measure the polymer shell thickness (63 Angstrom) and core radius (560 Angstrom) of the surfactant-stabilized hollow polymer spheres in the presence of surfactant micelles. Characterization by SANS provides information about the surfactant bilayer and polymer shell thicknesses which were previously unattainable.