A Novel Approach to Monodisperse, Luminescent Silica Spheres

Monodisperse aminopropylsilica spheres were grown via a modified Stöber process with varying amounts of tetraethyl orthosilicate and (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). Upon calcination, the spheres become luminescent, with the emission maximum dependent on the original APTES concentration. This provides a simple one-step route to gram-scale quantities of tailorable, luminescent, monodisperse silica spheres.