The Music of Core-Shell Spheres and Hollow Capsules: Influence of the Architecture on the Mechanical Properties at the Nanoscale

We report on the first measurement of elastic vibrational modes in core-shell spheres (silica-poly(methyl methacrylate), SiO2-PMMA) and corresponding spherical hollow capsules (PMMA) with different particle size and shell thickness using Brillouin light scattering, supported by numerical calculations. These localized modes allow access to the mechanical moduli down to a few tens of nanometers. We observe reduced mechanical strength of the porous silica core, and for the core-shell spheres a striking increase of the moduli in both the SiO2 core and the PMMA shell. The peculiar behavior of the vibrational modes in the hollow capsules is attributed to antagonistic dependence on overall size and layer thickness in agreement with theoretical predictions.