title: Controlled supramolecular self-assembly of large nanoparticles in amphiphilic brush block copolymers.
abstract: To date the self-assembly of ordered metal nanoparticle (NP)/block copolymer hybrid materials has been limited to NPs with core diameters (D(core)) of less than 10 nm, which represents only a very small fraction of NPs with attractive size-dependent physical properties. Here this limitation has been circumvented using amphiphilic brush block copolymers as templates for the self-assembly of ordered, periodic hybrid materials containing large NPs beyond 10 nm. Gold NPs (D(core) = 15.8 ± 1.3 nm) bearing poly(4-vinylphenol) ligands were selectively incorporated within the hydrophilic domains of a phase-separated (polynorbornene-g-polystyrene)-b-(polynorbornene-g-poly(ethylene oxide)) copolymer via hydrogen bonding between the phenol groups on gold and the PEO side chains of the brush block copolymer. Well-ordered NP arrays with an inverse cylindrical morphology were readily generated through an NP-driven order-order transition of the brush block copolymer.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Dong-Po
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Nicholas S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Colella
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gido
authors.affiliation: †Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Watkins