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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Using Polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-coated Metal Nanoparticles as Monomers for Their Homo- and Co-polymerization
Published on: July 9, 2015
Nanoparticle-driven assembly of block copolymers: a simple route to ordered hybrid materials
Ying Lin1, Vikram K Daga, Eric R Anderson
1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
Abstract:
The addition of nanoparticles that selectively hydrogen bond with one of the segments of a block copolymer is shown to induce order in otherwise disordered systems. This enables the fabrication of well-ordered hybrid materials with spherical, cylindrical, or lamellar domains at particle loadings of more than 40%, as evidenced by TEM and SAXS. The approach described is simple and applicable to a wide range of nanoparticles and block copolymers, and it lays the groundwork for the design of cooperatively assembled functional devices.
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