Hybrid silica-silicone nanocapsules obtained in catanionic vesicles. Cryo-TEM studies

An effective way to obtain hollow hybrid silica-silicone nanocapsules of controlled diameter is presented. For that purpose a new precursor of silica-silicone material, tetra(triethoxysilylethyl) tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane, was synthesized by hydrosilylation of vinyltriethoxysilane with tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane. Mixture of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) in the cationic (the DTAB/SDBS system) rich region of the phase diagram was used to form the vesicular templates. The hybrid silica-silicone nanocapsules was obtained in base-catalyzed polymerization/polycondensation processes of the precursor inside of vesicle membrane. The shape and morphology of the silica-silicone nanocapsules was evaluated using transmission cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Cryo-TEM reveals formation of discrete hollow shells of diameter consisted with the sizes of equilibrium vesicles used for templating.