title: Thermosensitive copolymer networks modify gold nanoparticles for nanocomposite entrapment.
abstract: The core-shell gold nanoparticles and copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) hybrids (Au@copolymer) were fabricated through surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on the surface of gold nanoparticles in 2-propanol/water mixed solvents. The surface of citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles was first modified by a disulfide initiator for ATRP. The slight cross-linking polymerization between NIPAM and MBAA occurred on the gold surface and resulted in the formation of core-shell Au@copolymer nanostructures that were characterized by TEM, and FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopy. Such synthesized Au@copolymer hybrids possess clearly thermosensitive properties and exhibit "inspire" and "expire" water behavior in response to temperature changes in aqueous solution. Because of this property, we enable to trap and encapsulate smaller nanoparticles by using the free space of the copolymer-network scaffold anchored at the gold surface.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), International Joint Lab, CAS Key Lab of Colloid and Interface Science, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhong Guan Cun, Beijing 100080, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongxiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Kewei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Junbai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053761:Nanocomposites; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D006046:Gold