A novel approach to the synthesis of hollow silica nanoparticles

Abstract Hollow silica nanoparticles were synthesized with incorporation of silanol groups (SiOH) onto polymer particles in dispersion polymerization and the polycondensation reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) exclusively took place at the particles surface in the presence of ammonia following the so-called Stober process and the silica-coated polymer powers were calcined at 800 °C. The diameters of hollow silica spheres are found to be very close to the original diameter and the average pore diameter is less than 100 nm. Moreover, the hollow silica nanoparticles have uniform aperture, do not agglomerate and collapse.