Synthesis of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene-silica core–shell particles with a self-templating method and their fluorescent properties

Sub-micrometer particles with poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene (MEH-PPV) cores coated by silica-based shells were prepared with a self-templating method and their fluorescent properties were investigated in this paper. The characteristic of this method was that all reactions could be finished in one-pot, which exempted from removing the template and reduced reaction steps compared to the conventional process. Emission wavelength of the resultant core–shell particles can readily be tuned through chemical modification of MEH-PPV, which was carried out via regulating the conjugation length of the polymer. In addition, the size of MEH-PPV/SiO2 core–shell particles could be controlled by altering reaction conditions. The obtained particles had clear core–shell structure and may be used as biolabeling materials. The morphologies, particle size distribution and fluorescent properties of MEH-PPV/SiO2 particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle size analyzer and fluorescence emission spectra, respectively.