When nanoparticles are dispersed with polymers, a coreshell
structure tends to be formed in which nanoparticles
covered with polymeric chains under certain conditions
such as those used for self-assembly. By employing this
approach, Caruso et al. [25] developed core-shell materials
with given size, topology, and composition. Han and
Armes [26] and Rotstein and Tannenbaum [27] studied
polypyrrole, polystyrene and silica nanocomposites,
respectively, and also confirmed the formation of this
core-shell structure. In the present study, SiO2 nanoparticles
act as cores or templates to assemble PDDA and then
adsorb NRL particles to develop a bulk NR/SiO2 nanocomposite.
There are two electrostatic adsorption stages
in this process (Fig. 1) [24].