title: One-step synthesis of titania nanoparticles from PS-P4VP diblock copolymer solution.
abstract: Polymeric films containing titania nanoparticles have potential as dielectric films for flexible electronic applications. For this purpose, the nanoparticles must be homogeneously distributed. Self-assembly is emerging as a neat, elegant method for fabricating such nanostructured hybrid materials with well-distributed nanoparticles. In this work, we report a micellar solution approach for the assembly of copolymer-titanium precursor nanostructures in which titania nanoparticles were synthesized. The ratio of the amount of titanium precursor, titanium isopropoxide, to the blocks forming the micellar core, poly(4-vinylpyridine), was found to play a key role in controlling film morphology. A sphere-to-ribbon transition was observed when the amount of titanium isopropoxide was increased. The thin film morphology can be tuned using the precursor-copolymer interaction rather than just the polymer-polymer interaction or the polymer-solution interaction. This method provides yet another way to control the morphology of nanostructures.
authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore.
authors: Lixin
authors: L
authors: Song
authors: Yeng Ming
authors: YM
authors: Lam
authors: Chris
authors: C
authors: Boothroyd
authors: Puat Wen
authors: PW
authors: Teo