Novel fabrication of Janus particles from the surfaces of electrospun polymer fibers

A novel synthetic approach for the efficient fabrication of Janus silica particles was demonstrated by embedment of zero-dimensional colloids on one-dimensional polymer fiber surfaces, followed by the surface modification on the exposed silica hemispheres. Electrospinning of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) blends produced polymer fibers with high specific surface area and desired surface hydrophilicities. Fiber compositions determined the colloid adsorption density and uniformity. The colloid embedding resulted from the polymer softening was manipulated by the isothermal heat treatment. Subsequent silianization completed the amino functionalities on hemispherical surfaces of embedded silica colloids. Janus particles with uniform asymmetric chemical features were further labeled with gold nanoparticles before their recovery from fiber substrates. Fabrication of Janus particles, including colloid adsorption, temperature-driven embedding, and hemispherical surface modification, were investigated and are discussed.