title: Microsphere organization of nanorods directed by PEG linear polymer.
abstract: We demonstrate the sphere organization of ZnO, Bi2S3, MnO2, and La(OH)3 nanorods directed by PEG linear polymer. Our study shows that zinc, bismuth, manganese, or lanthanum species added to PEG solutions, in which PEG molecules are well dissolved in a coil state, convert the polymer coils to aggregate structures, which further aggregate into micrometer-sized M(n+)-PEG globules. The concentration of metallic species is higher in the globules than in bulk solutions. The surfaces of the globules act as soft templates for the initial nucleation and thereafter the growth of the nanorods. Finally, echinus-type assemblies of single-crystalline nanorods form by the metallic species hydrolyzing or reacting with deposition agents. This approach opens the possibility of using polymers as soft templates to control the organization of nano building units into designed structures.
authors.affiliation: Lab of Mesoscopic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Xingfu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Shuyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Danyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen