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Encapsulation of uranyl acetate molecules using hollow polymer templates
Jinda Fan1, John J Bozzola, Yong Gao
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, 62901-4402, USA.
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
|April 19, 2003
Summary
Researchers created polymer nanocapsules from gold nanoclusters and polystyrene. These nanocapsules serve as effective hollow templates for encapsulating uranyl acetate, demonstrating a novel templating method.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemistry
Background:
- Gold nanoclusters are often protected by ligands.
- Ligand crosslinking can create novel composite materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop polymer nanocapsules using a gold nanocluster core-shell structure.
- To utilize these nanocapsules as hollow templates for encapsulation.
Main Methods:
- Crosslinking 4-mercaptostyrene ligands on gold nanoclusters to form polystyrene/gold composite particles.
- Etching the gold core using sodium cyanide to yield hollow polymer nanocapsules.
- Encapsulating uranyl acetate within the nanocapsules.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized core-shell polymer/gold composite particles.
- Generated hollow polymer nanocapsules via gold etching.
- Demonstrated the utility of these nanocapsules as templates for uranyl acetate encapsulation.
Conclusions:
- Polymer nanocapsules can be effectively fabricated from crosslinked ligand-protected gold nanoclusters.
- The resulting hollow nanocapsules are suitable templates for molecular encapsulation.