Asymmetric Polymer Particles with Anisotropic Curvatures by Annealing Polystyrene Microspheres on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films

Abstract

Anisotropic polymer particles such as Janus particles have attracted significant attention in recent years because of their unique properties and unusual self-assembly behavior. Most anisotropic polymer particles synthesized so far, however, only have different chemical regions compartmentalized on the particles. It remains a great challenge to fabricate anisotropic polymer particles with different shapes within a single particle. A novel approach is developed to prepare anisotropic polymer particles that contain two hemispheres with different curvatures by annealing polystyrene microspheres on poly(vinyl alcohol) films. During the annealing process, the polymer microspheres gradually sink into the polymer films and transform to asymmetric polymer particles, driven by the surface and interfacial tensions of the polymers. Selective removal techniques are also used to confirm the morphologies of the asymmetric particles.