Core-shell colloidal particles with dynamically tunable scattering properties
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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
Published on: April 22, 2016
Guangnan Meng1, Vinothan N Manoharan, Adeline Perro
1Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Abstract:
We design polystyrene-poly(N'-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) core-shell particles that exhibit dynamically tunable scattering. We show that under normal solvent conditions the shell is nearly index-matched to pure water, and the particle scattering is dominated by Rayleigh scattering from the core. As the temperature or salt concentration increases, both the scattering cross-section and the forward scattering increase, characteristic of Mie scatterers. The magnitude of the change in the scattering cross-section and scattering anisotropy can be controlled through the solvent conditions and the size of the core. Such particles may find use as optical switches or optical filters with tunable opacity.
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