Robust Plasma Polymerized-Titania/Silica Janus Microparticles

We report on the universal fabrication of Janus microparticles from a wide variety of organic and inorganic components. The Janus particle fabrication described in this study details the synthesis of the highly cross-linked polymer nanocoatings on top of the partially embedded particles via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Here we conducted the plasma enhanced polymerization of different organic functionalized, reactive, responsive, and biomolecular materials ranging from acrylic compounds to organometallic molecules and aminoacids all directly on silica and titania microspheres, while using a masking technique to ensure that only a controlled fraction of the total particle surface area will be covered. This facile, fast, and scalable selected polymerization approach allows for single-face polymerization, generating organic−inorganic Janus particles which are robust and can be further converted into a variety of interesting mesoscale structures. Half-fluorescent, half-metal-decorated, and half-shelled structures were all demonstrated here as particular examples.