A facile method of synthesizing size-controlled hollow cyanoacrylate nanoparticles for transparent superhydrophobic/oleophobic surfaces

Hollow nanoparticles have broad technological implications in a wide range of applications. Particularly, they have attracted great attention as functional coatings in applications such as optical devices, which have an optical transparency derived from a low refractive index. However, creating a facile and versatile method that can accurately control the hollow nanoparticle size has proven extremely challenging. Herein, we report a simple, instantly complete, one-pot method, designated the supersaturated gas-cored instant polymerization (SGCIP) method, to synthesize size-controlled hollow cyanoacrylate nanoparticles (HCNPs). The SGCIP method uses supersaturated gas created by mixing two solvents (water and acetone) and the instant polymerization of cyanoacrylate, whereby it demonstrates facile control of the particle diameters ranging from 13 to 1830 nm reproducibly by simply changing the solvent ratio. Moreover, a unique phase transition (from network to particle formation) is observed during the adjustment of the solvent ratio. As a one-concept application, transparent superhydrophobic/oleophobic coatings are achieved by self-assembly of the HCNPs and silanization. The successful synthesis of such fascinating materials may also provide new insights into the design and development of functional hollow nanoparticles for various applications.