Fluorescent microparticles fabricated through chemical coating of O/W emulsion droplets with a thin metallic film

Abstract

We have developed a simple fabrication process for fluorescent silver-coated liquid particles. The synthesis involves the encapsulation of quasi-monodisperse micronic soybean oil-in-water emulsion droplets in a polydopamine shell followed by an electroless silver plating of the surface. Due to the presence of the thin silver layer, the droplets exhibit a broad range fluorescence that shows no photobleaching upon illumination. The method shows that multimodal colloidal microparticles can be produced via a high-yield method from sustainable, off-the-shelf products with mild synthesis routes in aqueous conditions.