Polystyrene coated silica(SiO_2@PS) core-shell composite particles with averaged diameter of about 290 nm were prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization of styrene on the surface ofγ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane grafted SiO_2 nanoparticles of 20-50 nm in diameter.Rheological behavior and dispersion stability of SiO_2@PS suspension in 10 wt%PS solution were compared with suspensions of untreated SiO_2 and silane modified SiO_2 nanoparticles.Suspensions of the untreated and the silane modified SiO_2 exhibited obvious shear thinning.The SiO-2@PS suspension exhibits shear viscosity considerably smaller than suspensions of untreated and silane modified SiO_2 at low shear rates.Transmission electron microscopy showed that the composite particles can uniformly and stably disperse in PS solution compared to other suspensions,implying that the PS shell can effectively enhance the particle compatibility with PS macromolecules in solution.
Colloidal suspensions of glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinked or grafted graphene oxide (GO) sheets were fabricated by simply tailoring the feed sequence. The different structures were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction. As demonstration of the utilities, the different colloidal suspensions were used to prepare free-standing papers by flow-directed filtration and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based nanocomposite films by casting. Free-standing papers from GA crosslinked GO sheets exhibited better mechanical properties than unmodified GO paper, while nanocomposite films from GA grafted GO exhibit higher tensile strength and Young's modulus.