Poly(furfuryl alcohol) nanospheres: a facile synthesis approach based on confinement effect of polymer and a template for synthesis of metal oxide hollow nanospheres

This paper describes a facile hydrothermal approach to the large-scale synthesis of well-dispersed poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) nanospheres with an average diameter of 350 nm in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies showed that different morphologies of PFA could be obtained by adjusting the ratio of PVP and furfuryl alcohol (FA). As a whole, the results demonstrate that PVP plays a key role in controlling the polymerization process of FA. The confinement effect of PVP is proposed to explain the formation process of PFA nanospheres. Furthermore, the as-prepared PFA nanospheres have a functional surface that allow them to act as an ideal template for fabricating metal oxide hollow nanospheres.