Renaissance of Stöber method for synthesis of colloidal particles: New developments and opportunities

Colloidal silica particles have received a widespread interest because of their potential applications in adsorption, ceramics, catalysis, drug delivery and more. Among many approaches towards fabrication of these colloidal particles, Stöber, Fink and Bohn (SFB) method, known as Stöber synthesis is an effective sol–gel strategy for production of uniform, monodispersed silica particles with highly tailorable size and surface properties. This review, after a brief introduction showing the importance of colloidal chemistry, is focused on the Stöber synthesis of silica spheres including discussion of the key factors affecting their particle size, porosity and surface properties. Next, further developments of this method are presented toward fabrication of polymer, carbon, and composite spheres.