We are always looking for enthusiastic scientists capable of working in an interdisciplinary team. If you are interested in creating materials by simple self-assembly processes, pattern surfaces with high precision without relying on sophisticated equipment or simply enjoy watching colloids on their quest to find an energetic minimum position get in touch.
Synthesis and Characterization of Silica-Polymer Core-Shell Particles
Miniproject
Supervisor: Ruiguang Cui
Studying particles at two-dimensional (2D) interfaces is of fundamental scientific interest and has practical implications in fields such as optical materials, lithography, and biosensing. Among various colloidal systems, hybrid core-shell particles—comprising a hard inorganic core and a soft polymer shell—offer unique physical properties that lie between those of fully rigid or fully soft particles. These core-shell systems exhibit spontaneous adsorption to interfaces and can be tailored to assemble into ordered structures through their polymer shells, particularly when using stimuli-responsive polymers (e.g., pH- or temperature-sensitive systems).
In this mini-project, we aim to synthesize silica-polymer core-shell particles and study how synthetic conditions influence their structure. The core silica particles are prepared using the well-established Stöber method, while polymer shells are grown via UV-light-induced controlled polymerization (specifically RAFT polymerization, i.e., Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization).
Project Goals
- Investigate how reaction parameters (e.g., UV exposure time, monomer concentration, block copolymer formation) affect particle size, polymer chain length, and shell structure
- Characterize the resulting core-shell particles through techniques such as FTIR, NMR, GPC, TGA, DLS, SEM, and TEM
- Quantify key parameters such as polymer molecular weight, chain length, and grafting density
What You Will Gain
- Hands-on experience with oxygen- and moisture-free synthesis using Schlenk techniques
- Training in controlled radical polymerization (RAFT polymerization)
- Insights into grafting polymers from solid surfaces
- Familiarity with key analytical instruments: FTIR, NMR, GPC, TGA, DLS, SEM, TEM
- A deeper understanding of polymer chemistry
- Guidance on data analysis and scientific presentation skills
Who Are We Looking For?
- A highly motivated and diligent master’s student
- With solid basic skills in chemical synthesis
- Background in chemistry, preferably with some knowledge of polymer chemistry
If you’re interested in contributing to cutting-edge materials research and developing a broad set of experimental skills, please directly contact Ruiguang Cui (ruiguang.cui@fau.de).
References:
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2021, 118 (52). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113394118.
ACS Omega 2017, 2 (7), 3399-3405. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.7b00367
Starting time: Available now
