Facile fabrication of poly(acrylic acid) hollow nanogels via in situ Pickering miniemulsion polymerization

Abstract

This communication presents a facile and large-scale fabrication of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hollow nanogels via an in situ Pickering miniemulsion polymerization method. Cross-linked polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanoparticles with a hollow structure were prepared by using a hydrophobic solvent as the liquid core. The complete hydrolysis reaction process of the PAN shell leads to the successful formation of hollow PAA nanogels. Furthermore, magnetic hollow microgels are obtained conveniently.