Aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles in Presence of the Thermoresponsive Cationic Diblock Copolymer PNIPAAM₄₈-b-PAMPTMA₆

The adsorption of the thermoresponsive positively charged copolymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride, PNIPAAM₄₈-b-PAMPTMA₆(+), onto negatively charged gold nanoparticles can provide stability to the nanoparticles and make the emerging structure tunable by temperature. In this work, we characterize the nanocomposite formed by gold nanoparticles and copolymer chains and study the influence of the copolymer on the expected aggregation process that undergoes those nanoparticles at high ionic strength. We also determine the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the copolymer (around 42 °C) and evaluate the influence of the temperature on the nanocomposite. For those purposes, we use dynamic light scattering, UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. At the working PNIPAAM₄₈-b-PAMPTMA₆(+) concentration, we observe the existence of copolymer structures that trap the gold nanoparticles and avoid the formation of nanoparticles aggregates. Finally, we discuss how these structures can be useful in catalysis and nanoparticles recovery.