One-step synthesis of silver-poly(4-vinylpyridine) hybrid microgels by γ-irradiation and surfactant-free emulsion polymerisation. The photoluminescence characteristics

Spherical silver-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (Ag-P4VP) hybrid microgels, in which Ag nanoparticles (2–3 nm) were evenly dispersed in P4VP particles (80–120 nm), were successfully synthesized in a single step by γ-irradiation and surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. Both UV–vis spectra and transmission electron microscope (TEM) image reflected that almost all Ag nanoparticles were encapsulated in P4VP particles. More interestingly, this hybrid microgel dispersion exhibited peculiar photoluminescence (PL) phenomenon, which might arise from the monomer emission of the pyridine group enhanced by Ag nanoparticles.