Synthesis of monodisperse silica particles coated with well-defined, high-density polymer brushes by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

Monodisperse silica particles (SiPs) of diameter between 100 and 1500 nm were surface-modified in a mixture of ethanol/water/ammonia with a newly designed triethoxysilane having an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiating site, (2-bromo-2-methyl)propionyloxyhexyltriethoxysilane. The surface-initiated ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) mediated by a copper complex was carried out with the initiator-fixed SiPs in the presence of a sacrificial (free) initiator. The polymerization proceeded in a living manner in all examined cases, producing SiPs coated with well-defined PMMA of a target molecular weight up to 480K with a graft density as high as 0.65 chains/nm(2). These hybrid particles had an exceptionally good dispersibility in organic solvents. Transmission electron microscopic and atomic force microscopic observations of their monolayers prepared at the air-water interface revealed that they formed an ordered 2-dimensional lattice extending throughout the monolayer.