Synthesis of porous hollow silica spheres using functionalized polystyrene latex spheres as templates

Uniform sized and integrated hollow silica spheres with porous shells were prepared by using sulfuric and carboxylic acid-functionalized polystyrene latex spheres as templates, sodium silicate as a precursor, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a shell structure-directing agent. When polystyrene-methyl acrylic acid latex spheres were used as the templates, the pores in the shells of the resultant hollow silica spheres were composed of both micropores and mesopores. The pores in the shells of the hollow silica spheres were mainly composed of mesopores when sulfonated polystyrene-methyl acrylic acid latex spheres were used as the templates. The shell thickness and the specific surface area of the hollow silica spheres increased with the increase in the surface acidity of the latex spheres.