Organic/Inorganic Composite Latexes: The Marriage of Emulsion Polymerization and Inorganic Chemistry
Résumé
This review article describes recent advances in the synthesis and properties of waterborne organic/inorganic colloids elaborated through conventional emulsion polymerization, a well-established technology. These materials can be defined as aqueous suspensions of composite latex particles made up of organic and inorganic domains organized into well-defined core shell, multinuclear, raspberry-like, multipod-like, or armored morphologies. Particular emphasis is placed on the synthetic strategies for fabrication of these colloidal materials. Two main approaches are described: the polymerization of organic monomers in the presence of preformed inorganic particles, and the reverse approach by which inorganic materials are synthesized in the presence of preformed polymer latexes. The list of examples provided in this review is by no means exhaustive but rather intends to give an overview of synthetic methods for selected inorganic compounds (e.g., silica, iron oxide, pigments, clays, quantum dots, and metals), and briefly reports on potential applications of the resulting materials.