Issue 16, 2018

Cluster-mediated assembly enables step-growth copolymerization from binary nanoparticle mixtures with rationally designed architectures

Abstract

Directed co-assembly of binary nanoparticles (NPs) into one-dimensional copolymer-like chains is fascinating but challenging in the realm of material science. While many strategies have been developed to induce the polymerization of NPs, it remains a grand challenge to produce colloidal copolymers with widely tailored compositions and precisely controlled architectures. Herein we report a robust colloidal polymerization strategy, which enables the growth of sophisticated NP chains with elaborately designed structures. By quantifying NP assembly statistics and kinetics, we establish that the linear assembly of colloidal NPs, with the assistance of PbSO4 clusters, follows a step-growth polymerization mechanism, and on the basis of this, we design and fabricate NP chains structurally analogous to random, block, and alternating copolymers, respectively. Our studies offer mechanistic insights into cluster-mediated colloidal polymerization, paving the way toward the rational synthesis of colloidal copolymers with quantitatively predicted architectures and functionalities.

Graphical abstract: Cluster-mediated assembly enables step-growth copolymerization from binary nanoparticle mixtures with rationally designed architectures

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
15 Jan 2018
Accepted
01 Apr 2018
First published
02 Apr 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 3986-3991

Cluster-mediated assembly enables step-growth copolymerization from binary nanoparticle mixtures with rationally designed architectures

X. Zhang, L. Lv, G. Wu, D. Yang and A. Dong, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 3986 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC00220G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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