• Chu, F.; Polzer, F.; Severin, N.; Lu, Y.; Ott, A.; Rabe, J.; Ballauff, M.: Thermosensitive hollow Janus dumbbells. Colloid and Polymer Science 292 (2014), p. 1785-1793

10.1007/s00396-014-3287-8

Abstract:
Thermosensitive hollow Janus dumbbells, consisting of two partially fused hollow poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) spheres, were prepared using dumbbell-shaped microgels as templates. One sphere has a shell completely made of PNIPAM while the other one has a hybrid shell, which is a poly(styrene-co-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate) layer covered by PNIPAM. The morphology of hollow Janus dumbbells is fully characterized by cryo- and transmission electron microscopy, scanning force microscopy, and dynamic light scattering. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that the particles have a very narrow size distribution. The analysis by depolarized dynamic light scattering showed that the hollow Janus dumbbells exhibit a thermosensitive behavior comparable to the dumbbell-shaped microgels before the removal of the core.