Spherical and rod-like colloids with polymer-brush surfaces

In this paper, we describe a strategy to overcome incompatibility of colloidal particles and polymer coils as well as immiscibility of spherical and rod-shaped nanoparticles. Two new types of model colloids are presented, colloidal nanospheres with hairy surfaces (spherical brushes) and polymacromonomers to represent cylindrical brushes. The spherical brushes are synthesized from polyorganosiloxane-μ-gels of diameter 20 nm by grafting onto anionically prepared polystyrene macromonomers of molecular weight M w=5000 g/mol. On average, each sphere has a surface layer of 200 polymer chains. Compatibility of spherical nanoparticles with polymer coils was probed by turbidity of as-cast films as w…