Preparation and characterization of optically functional hollow sphere hybrid materials by surface-initiated RATRP and ＂click＂ chemistry

The random copolymers grafted onto the surfaces of SiO2 hollow sphere via reverse atom transfer radical polymerization （RATRP） and ＂click＂ chemistry were investigated. A sufficient amount of peroxides, as initiating moieties, were introduced onto the surface of hollow spheres. Then styrene and 4-vinylbenzyl azide were polymerized via surface-initiated reverse atom transfer radical polymerization （SI-RATRP） using the peroxide group modified hollow sphere as initiator, resulting in hollow spheres （HS） with grafted polystyrene-co-poly（4-vinylbenzyl azide） copolymer brushes as （HS-g-PS-co-PVBA） intermedi- ate material. Subsequently, N-propargyl-carbazole （PC） was covalently bonded to HS-g-PS-co-PVBA by the ＂click＂ reaction, resulting in the HS-g-PS-co-PVBPC hybrid material. The excitation spectrum is dominated by a broad band from 350 nm to 400 nm with the maximum peak at 362 nm, attributed to the characteristic absorption of the carbazole grouD of HS-g-PS-co-PVBPC hybrid material.