title: Facile preparation of highly monodisperse small silica spheres (15 to >200 nm) suitable for colloidal templating and formation of ordered arrays.
abstract: Highly monodisperse spherical silica nanoparticles with diameters ranging from ca. 15 to 200 nm were prepared using an environmentally friendly water-based synthesis. The size of the spheres can be precisely controlled by using a facile regrowth procedure in the same reaction media. Furthermore, these monodisperse silica spheres can be successfully used as seeds in the well-established Stöber silica preparation. The regrowth approach allows for easy incorporation of functional additives. High monodispersity and charge stabilization renders these nanoparticles highly suitable for close-packed array formation and colloidal templating.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Wilfrid Laurier University,Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5.
authors.forename: Kurtis D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Hartlen
authors.forename: Aristidis P T
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Athanasopoulos
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kitaev