One of the most well-known classes of nanomaterials are gold nanoparticles. Their unique optical properties associated with localized surface plasmon resonance make them leading candidates in applications such as direct sunlight conversion to energy in organic solar cells. Chemical modifications with polymers to the surface of the nanoparticles allows for wide control of interfacial interactions that can enhance the power conversion efficiency. The central questions in this work are whether gold nanoparticles will remain stable against aggregation when incorporated into a nonaqueous soluble polymer that does not interact strongly with the surface of the nanoparticle, and if there is an observable trend for determining stability levels across a variety of different polymer films. Previous research with poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinyl acetate) suggested that the lower the glass transition temperature (Tg), the higher the ratio of polymer molecules per nanoparticle needed to obtain a polymer film with evenly dispersed gold nanoparticles. With only two polymers incorporated into the previous work, our main focus has been to determine the behavior in between the two Tg extremes. Our data shows that the glass transition temperature may not be the only variable that predicts stable films. This work explores trends that can be used to predict stability based on glass transition temperature, film evaporation rates, and polymer molecular weights and degrees of polymerization, as well as increase the efficiency in our technique of creating nanoparticle polymeric composites.

Can physical properties of polymers be used to predict stability of gold nanoparticle films?

2019 Spring National Meeting

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