Size-tunable polymeric nanoreactors for one-pot synthesis and encapsulation of quantum dots

Hydrophilic polymeric nanoparticles are synthesized through a Bergman cyclization- mediated intramolecular chain collapse of structurally well-defined linear polymers, and then used as size-tunable nanoreactors to fabricate and encapsulate quantum dots in a one-pot reaction. Crystalline quantum dots are formed in all of these nanoreactors and visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Smaller nanoreactors produce one quantum dot each while larger nanoreactors form a number, resulting in fluorescence quenching. By controlling the molecular weight of the linear polymer precursor, a variable number of nanocrystals are fabricated and assembled in a single nanoreactor.