Thermally reversible self-assembly of nanoparticles via polymer crystallization.
The directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles through the crystallization of surface-grafted polyethylene oxide (PEO) in ethanol-water mixtures is described. This process is fully reversible and tunable through either the size of the core or the polymeric coating. Characterization by X-ray scattering and electron microscopy of the self-assembled structures reveals order at the nanoscale, typically not the case for thermoresponsive gold nanoparticles coated with lower or upper critical solution temperature polymers. A further novelty is the result of selective binding of calcium ions to the PEO in the fluid state: a reversible thermoresponsive transition become irreversible.
['Kinnear|Calum|C|', 'Balog|Sandor|S|', 'Rothen-Rutishauser|Barbara|B|', 'Petri-Fink|Alke|A|']
D003460:Crystallization D053758:Nanoparticles D011108:Polymers
reversible self-assembly nanoparticles crystallization gold