Anisotropic polymer-mesoporous silica hybrid particles with tailorable morphology

Anisotropic particles have recently attracted tremendous attention because of its unique structure and properties. However, it is still a great challenge to control the anisotropic growth to precisely control the particle morphology. In this paper, an anisotropic polymer -mesoporous silica hybrid particle (PMS) was fabricated by regional growth of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sphere surface. The connection between PMO and PMMA is reinforced by electrostatic interaction and molecular crosslink. The asymmetric regional distribution of silicon and carbon is verified by the elemental mapping. The morphology of PMS is highly tailorable through the control of reaction time, silane concentration and particle diameters. PMO thickness and its coverage on PMMA surface are two main characteristics that remarkably shape the PMS architecture. This work provides a versatile route to prepare inorganic-organic hybrid particles with asymmetric composition and diverse geometry.