The Polymer Society of Korea

윤호준 (서울과학기술대학교)

김규한 (서울과학기술대학교)

We report an interfacial strategy to fabricate asymmetric multilayered colloidal films by compressing laterally segregated PS and SiO₂ microdomains at the air–water interface. Differences in hydrophilicity drive domain-selective subduction: silica domains preferentially sink beneath PS domains upon compression, forming vertical asymmetry. This stratification is tunable by compression distance and depletant concentration. At lower polymer levels, enhanced desorption leads to broader subduction and stronger asymmetry. Remarkably, when PS is functionalized with sulfonic acid to reverse wettability, PS domains subduct beneath silica, forming inverted structures. These findings reveal that interfacial energetics, not fixed surface properties, govern assembly. Our approach offers a versatile route to design asymmetric colloidal films for optical, catalytic, or separation uses.