Tunable UV-responsive organic-inorganic hybrid capsules

Abstract

A study was conducted to demonstrate the preparation of organic-inorganic hybrid capsules by combining LbL assembly and sol-gel methods. The study also showed that these capsules were suitable for the stable encapsulation of a low molecular weight dye, which was released upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. TiO2 was selected as the UV-responsive component, as it decomposed organic materials by photocatalytic reaction. Binary inorganic oxide system SiO2-TiO2 was selected to conduct investigations, as it was prepared by the sol-gel process with various compositions. The effect of UV irradiation on the morphology of the capsules was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was shown..