Facile synthesis and size control of highly monodispersed hybrid silica spheres through a novel nuclei controlling method

Monodispersed hybrid silica spheres with particles sizes up to 4 μm were obtained by controlling the number of nuclei generated in the initiation phase of particle formation using a two-step sol–gel method. This method has two advantages: (i) the particle size can be tuned easily just by variation of the amount ammonia added in the step of precursor hydrolysis, and (ii) the amount of precursor used to prepare particles with the same diameter is at least ten times lower than with traditional methods. The effects of stirring speed and stirring time on the resulting particle size were also studied.