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Updated: Apr 11, 2026
In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles without Aggregation in the Interlayer Space of Layered Titanate Transparent Films
Published on: January 17, 2017
In Situ Formation of Dual-Phase Thermosensitive Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles
Zidong He1, Aiqing Zhong1, Hui Zhang1
1School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, 500 N, Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200241 (P. R. China).
Abstract:
A novel method for the in situ synthesis of dual-phase thermosensitive ultrasmall gold nanoparticles (USGNPs) with diameters in the range of 1-3 nm was developed by using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(N-phenylethylenediamine methacrylamide) (PNIPAM-b-PNPEDMA) amphiphilic diblock copolymers as ligands. The PNPEDMA block promotes the in situ reduction of gold precursors to zero-valent gold and subsequently binds to the surface of gold nanoparticles, while PNIPAM acts as a stabilizing and thermosensitive block. The as-synthesized USGNPs stabilized by a thermosensitive PNIPAM layer exhibit a sharp, reversible, clear-opaque transition in aqueous solution between 30 and 38 °C. An unprecedented finding is that these USGNPs also show a reversible soluble-precipitate transition in nonpolar organic solvents such as chloroform at around 0 °C under acidic conditions.
