Preparation of polymer@titania raspberry-like core–corona composite via heterocoagulated self-assembly based on hydrogen-bonding interaction

The polymer@titania core–corona composites were prepared by a heterocoagluated self-assembly of poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVPy) core and poly(ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate-co-methacrylic acid)/titania (P(EGDMA-co-MAA)/TiO2) corona, during which the hydrogen-bonding interaction between the hydroxyl of titania corona and the pyridyl groups of the core particles played an essential role for the formation of the raspberry-like structure. The coverage of the titania (TiO2) nanoparticles on the polymeric cores were facilely controlled via adjusting the mass ratio between the core and corona particles. The effects of the pH and solvent on the stability of the resultant raspberry-like composites were investigated in detail. The structure and morphology of the polymeric core, titania corona particles and the resultant polymer@titania core–corona composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The nature of the interaction between the core and corona particles for the construction of the raspberry-like composite was identified with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).