One-step and one-pot synthesis of wrinkled polymer microspheres based on monomer reactivity ratio difference

Abstract

Different from conventional multi-step synthesis methods for wrinkled polymer microspheres (WPMs), here we propose a facile one-step and one-pot synthesis strategy for WPMs employing monomer reactivity ratio difference to form linear-crosslinked-linear gradient structure from inside to outside of the microspheres, leading to wrinkled surface by uneven shrinkage of the crosslinked and linear structures. The particle size and surface morphology for WPMs can be easily adjusted by changing monomer types and solvent ratio according to morphological characterization. Meanwhile, this method is universal for synthesizing WPMs having different monomers, supported by the fact that monomers bearing different substituent groups can be successfully used for the synthesis procedure. Finally, fluorescent microspheres with tuned emission colors are synthesized through this strategy by simply adding different fluorescent dyes in polymerization system, demonstrating the potential of such strategy in synthesizing optical-functional materials. These results provide a new perspective on the efficient preparation of WPMs and show its promising application in fabricating functional materials.