A way to obtain macroscopic responsive materials from silicon-oxide polymer core/shell microstructures is presented. The microparticles are composed of a 60 nm SiO 2 -core with a random copolymer corona of the temperature responsive poly-N -isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAAm) and the UV-cross-linkable 2-(dimethyl maleinimido)-N -ethyl-acrylamide. The particles shrink upon heating and form a stable gel in both water and tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 3-5 wt% particle content. Cross-linking the aqueous gel results in shrinkage when the temperature is increased above the lower critical solution temperature and it regains its original size upon cooling. By freeze drying with subsequent UV irradiation, thin stable layers are prepared. Stable fi bers are produced by extruding a THF gel into water and subsequent UV irradiation, harnessing the cononsolvency effect of PNIPAAm in water/THF mixtures. The temperature responsiveness translates to the macroscopic materials as both fi lms and fi bers show the same collapsing behavior as the microcore/ shell particle. The collapse and re-swelling of the materials is related to the expelling and re-uptake of water, which is used to incorporate gold nanoparticles into the materials by a simple heating/cooling cycle. This allows for future applications, as various functional particles (antibacterial, fl uorescence, catalysis, etc.) can easily be incorporated in these systems.

SiO2-PNIPAAm core-shell microgels (PNIPAAm=poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)) with various internal cross-linking densities and different degrees of polymerization were prepared in order to investigate the effects of stability, packing, and temperature responsiveness at polar-apolar interfaces. The effects were investigated using interfacial tensiometry, and the particles were visualized by cryo-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning force microscopy (SFM). The core-shell particles display different interfacial behaviors depending on the polymer shell thickness and degree of internal cross-linking. A thicker polymer shell and reduced internal cross-linking density are more favorable for the stabilization and packing of the particles at oil-water (o/w) interfaces. This was shown qualitatively by SFM of deposited, stabilized emulsion droplets and quantitatively by SFM of particles adsorbed onto a hydrophobic planar silicon dioxide surface, which acted as a model interface system. The temperature responsiveness, which also influences particle-interface interactions, was investigated by dynamic temperature protocols with varied heating rates. These measurements not only showed that the particles had an unusual but very regular and reversible interface stabilization behavior, but also made it possible to assess the nonlinear response of PNIPAAm microgels to external thermal stimuli.

A way to obtain macroscopic responsive materials is by using cross‐linkable silicon‐oxide polymer core/shell microstructures that can gelate various solvents. Patrick van Rijn and co‐workers describe thin films as well as stable fibers prepared by extruding. The responsiveness of the single particles is translated to the macroscopic material to which additional nanostructures can be incorporated.

Softness of polymer colloids is vital for the arrangement and density of the colloidal particles at interfaces. On , A. Böker, P. van Rijn et al. present an investigation of SiO2–PNIPAAm core–shell microgels with various internal cross‐linking densities and different degrees of polymerization on the effects of stability, packing and temperature responsiveness at polar–apolar interfaces producing planar assemblies and stable capsules (cover design by C.W. Pester; PNIPAAm=poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)).