Self and Programmable Assembly of Nanoparticles with Multicompartment Polymer Brushes

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CBET 1438240Nanometer-sized particles are often used as building blocks to fabricate materials with advanced functionality and unique properties. To take advantage of their fascinating optical, electronic and magnetic properties, nanoparticles must be assembled into desired structures for specific technological applications. Most studies of nanoparticle assembly use spherical nanoparticles that are uniformly coated with surfactants and/or polymers. Assembly of these particles leads to phases with simple symmetries. However, if "patches" with distinct chemical properties can be introduced onto the surfaces of the nanoparticles, the resulting ensemble structures can be much more complex with properties that can be better tailored for specific applications. This project aims to investigate a novel method to synthesize patchy nanoparticles and to explore their self-assembled structures for optical and electronic applications. While computer simulation suggests that a wide range of structures can be obtained by patchy particles, limited experimental work has been reported. The main reason is the lack of experimental approaches to synthesize particles with controlled patches. The newly developed polymer-single-crystal-templating method will be used to synthesize 5-100 nm diameter multicompartment nanoparticles, and to form complex multicompartment ensembles using self- and programmable assembly. The nanoparticles will have a uniform central core and a shell made up of multicompartment polymer brushes. The conformation of the polymer chains and the corresponding nanoparticle ensembles can be made responsive to external stimuli such as pH, temperature and/or solvents. The project will lead to a library of new nanoparticle structures for fundamental scientific study and technological applications.