title: Fabrication of multicomponent polymer nanostructures containing PMMA shells and encapsulated PS nanospheres in the nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide templates.
abstract: Multi-component polymer nanomaterials have attracted great attention because of their applications in areas such as biomedicine, tissue engineering, and organic solar cells. The precise control over the morphologies of multi-component polymer nanomaterials, however, is still a great challenge. In this work, the fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA)/poly-styrene (PS) nanostructures that contain PMMA shells and encapsulated PS nanospheres is studied. The nanostructures are prepared using a triple solution wetting method with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The nanopores of the templates are wetted sequentially by PS solutions in dimethylformamide (DMF), PMMA solutions in acetic acid, and water. The compositions and morphologies of the nanostructures are controlled by the interactions between the polymers, solvents, and AAO walls. This work not only presents a feasible method to prepare multi-component polymer nanomaterials, but also leads to a better understanding of polymer-solvent interactions in confined geometries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hao-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Mu-Huan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Chun-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chun-Hsien
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Tzu-Hui
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Chia-Chan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Chi-How
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jiun-Tai
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D004566:Electrodes; D058608:Nanopores; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D011137:Polystyrenes; D012997:Solvents; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D000537:Aluminum Oxide
keywords: anodic aluminum oxide; core-shell; multicomponent systems; templates; wetting