Synthesis and surface modification of organic-inorganic hybrid particles of polystyrene silica as thermal insulator coatings

Hollow silica spheres were successfully prepared by using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as the precursor and using polystyrene as the template. Monodisperse polystyrene (PS) spheres with controllable size and using PVA as stabilizer have been synthesized by suspension polymerization. Synthesized PS spheres have a typical diameter ranging from∼60 µm to 240 µm. The sol-gel method has been used to prepare hybrid core-shell particles by coating the surfaces of monodisperse polystyrene particles with silica shells. The thickness of the silica coating could be controlled in the range of 10-15 nm by adjusting the concentration of TEOS. The particle size average was measured using dynamic light scattering (DLS). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for investigate the morphologies. Hollow silica spheres could be obtained by removing the polymer cores via calcinations.