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Encapsulation properties of reverse-amphiphilic core/shell polymeric nanoobjects with different shapes
Yuyan Li1, Bo Peng, Yongming Chen
1Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. ymchen@iccas.ac.cn.
Journal of Materials Chemistry. B
|April 9, 2020
Summary
Polymeric nanoobjects (PNOs) with core/shell structures were developed as nanocapsules for encapsulating anionic dyes. Spherical PNOs demonstrated the highest dye loading capacity, also enabling dye separation and material coloration.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Diblock copolymers like poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-block-poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PGMA-b-PnBMA) can self-assemble into various morphologies.
- These self-assembled structures offer potential for creating functional nanocapsules.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize reverse-amphiphilic polymeric nanoobjects (PNOs) from PGMA-b-PnBMA diblock copolymers.
- To investigate the use of these PNOs as nanocapsules for encapsulating anionic hydrophilic dyes.
- To evaluate the encapsulation capacity and morphology-dependent performance of the PNOs.
Main Methods:
- Bulk self-assembly of PGMA-b-PnBMA copolymers to achieve different microphase-separated morphologies (lamellar, cylindrical, spherical).
- Crosslinking of PGMA domains with ammonium hydroxide to introduce amine groups.
- Quaternization of amine groups to create electropositive hydrophilic cores.
- Dispersion of modified PNOs in toluene for dye encapsulation experiments.
- Evaluation of encapsulation capacity using number loading ratios (nd/np).
Main Results:
- PGMA-b-PnBMA diblock copolymers self-assembled into lamellar, cylindrical, and spherical morphologies.
- Modified PNOs exhibited electropositive hydrophilic cores and hydrophobic poly(n-butyl methacrylate) shells.
- Spherical nanocapsules showed the highest dye encapsulation capacity (nd/np) due to their large interfacial area.
- Cylindrical nanocapsules had intermediate capacity, while lamellar structures showed the lowest.
- Spherical nanocapsules effectively separated dyes with different charges and uniformly colored materials.
Conclusions:
- Reverse-amphiphilic PNOs derived from PGMA-b-PnBMA are effective nanocapsules for hydrophilic dyes.
- Morphology significantly impacts dye encapsulation efficiency, with spherical PNOs being superior.
- These PNOs show promise for applications in dye encapsulation, separation, and material coloration.
