Preparation of well-defined core-shell nanocomposite particles based on colloidal templates

Core-shell nanocomposite particles, as attractive building blocks of advanced functional materials, have important applications in such areas as photonic band gap materials, microwave absorbing materials, electrorheological (or magnetorhelogical) fluids, catalysis and biology, etc. Because of their unique optic, electric, magnetic, catalytic and micromechanical properties, which are substantially different from those of mono-component particles. In this paper, the general strategies to fabricate uniform core-shell particles with the diameter from nanometer to micrometer using colloidal particles as templates are reviewed in detail in terms of structure controllability of core-shell particles such as the thickness and uniformity of the shell. As a consequence, in order to prepare core-shell particles with well-defined composition, morphology and properties, furthermore to obtain ordered advanced nanocomposite materials, the future research in nanoengineering of particle surfaces should focus on both optimization of the existing approaches and the development of new methods, make full use of the specific chemical and/or electrostatic interaction between colloidal templates and shell substance or its precursors.