The modification of surfaces by coating with polymer brushes has attracted much interest in the past few years due to numerous potential applications in material and life science for the development of smart surfaces. They can be used as 3D matrices for the immobilization of nanoparticles, resulting in nanocomposite materials with interesting mechanical, optical, or catalytic properties with tailored functions. Using stimuli sensitive polymers allows controlling the distribution of the particles during and after particle loading. This is of high impact for optics, sensorics and for drug delivery systems. Regarding these purposes, it is essential to understand the mutual effect of polymer brushes and particles on the particle distribution.In this study, responsive poly-(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (PDMAEMA) brushes with a LCST at ~55 �C and a pKa 7.5 are used as a matrix for the attachment of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The plasmon coupling between the AuNPs is controlled by external parameters (T, pH). By tuning the synthesis parameters, polymer brushes of different thicknesses (molecular weights) or grafting densities are produced using a new type of sealed reactor. This reactor allows the preparation of brush samples where only one single parameter of the system is varying while keeping all the other parameters constant. The effect of brush thickness and brush grafting density on the particle loading within the brush matrix is investigated by ellipsometry, X-ray reflectometry and high resolution cross section scanning electron microscopy. The structure (and dynamics) of the resulting hybrids in dependence of brush thickness and grafting density is discussed. Figure 1. <img src='https://acs-archive-assets2.s3.amazonaws.com/241nm/uploads/72040_figure_1.jpg' alt='' />

Polymer brush/gold particle hybrids: Mutual structural (and dynamic) effects on the particle distribution

248th National Meeting (2014)

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