Sonochemical synthesis of magnetic Janus nanoparticles.

The sonochemical synthesis of nanosized surface-dissymmetrical (Janus) particles is described. The Janus particles were composed of silica and polystyrene, with the polystyrene portion loaded with nanosized magnetite particles. It is shown that the Janus particles can be used to form kinetically stable oil-in-water emulsions that can be spontaneously broken on application of an external magnetic field. The one-pot synthetic process used to prepare the Janus particles has several advantages over other conventional methods of producing such particles.