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Updated: May 29, 2026
Using Polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid)-coated Metal Nanoparticles as Monomers for Their Homo- and Co-polymerization
Published on: July 9, 2015
Facile one-pot synthesis of functional gold nanoparticle-polymer hybrids using ionic block copolymers as a
Hyungmin Ahn1, Moon Jeong Park
1Department of Chemistry, Division of Advanced Materials Science (WCU), Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 790-784, Korea.
Abstract:
A highly versatile approach to fabricate functional gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-polymer hybrids is demonstrated by employing sulfonated block copolymers. The 3-5 nm sized ionic domain of the sulfonated poly(styrene-block-methylbutylene) (S(n) MB(m) ) copolymers can be utilized as a nanoreactor where the Au ions can be selectively sequestered and reduced to AuNPs using a simple photochemical method. The size of the AuNPs can be adjusted in fine-steps from 2.0 ± 0.3 to 3.9 ± 0.5 nm by changing the sulfonation levels of the S(n) MB(m) copolymers. Remarkably, significantly improved methanol oxidation properties are achieved with the hybrid materials owing to the ion conducting-SO(3) H groups and the interconnected network of AuNPs confined within the self-assembled microstructures, which provides electronic conductivity.
