Patent ID: 8846819

Claim:
A method for synthesizing a core-shell particle, comprising the steps of: synthesizing a polymeric seed in a solvent by living anionic dispersion polymerization, the polymeric seed including mono-vinyl monomer units cross-linked with a cross-linking agent to form the core of the nanoparticle, the core having an average diameter of about 5 nanometers to about 10,000 nanometers, and the seed having polymer chains with living ends; adding a stabilizer to stabilize the seed and prevent the seed from precipitating out of solution; and grafting and/or polymerizing a shell species onto the living ends of the seed to form the shell of the particle; wherein the seed is formed by polymerizing the mono-vinyl monomer using an initiator, and cross-linking the resulting polymer with a multiple-vinyl monomer cross-linking agent.