Nano Spray‐Dried Block Copolymer Nanoparticles and Their Transformation into Hybrid and Inorganic Nanoparticles. (13th March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Weisbord, Inbal; Shomrat, Neta; Moshe, Hen; Sosnik, Alejandro; Segal‐Peretz, Tamar
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 30:Number 18(2020)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2019-03-13
• Subjects: block copolymers -- nano spray‐drying -- nanoparticles -- self‐assembly -- sequential infiltration synthesis; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201808932
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract: A novel combination of block copolymer (BCP) nano spray‐drying (NSD), solvent annealing, and selective metal oxide growth is utilized to create functional polymer nanoparticles, polymer‐metal‐oxide hybrid nanoparticles, and templated metal oxide nanoparticles with tunable composition, internal morphology, and porosity. NSD of BCPs from chloroform and toluene solutions results in porous and nonporous nanoparticles, respectively, with various degrees of phase separation. Further tuning of the nanoparticle internal morphology is performed by solvent annealing the spray‐dried particles with judicious choice of the nonsolvent dispersion medium and the surfactant, yielding assembly of both blocks at the surface of the nanoparticles. Finally, ZnO and Al2 O3 are grown inside the polar blocks of phase‐ordered nanoparticles using a sequential infiltration synthesis method, in a post‐assembly process, resulting in hybrid BCP‐ZnO particles and BCP‐templated Al2 O3 nanoparticles, as demonstrated by scanning transmission electron microscopy tomography. These structure engineering methods open new ways to direct and template functional nanoparticles. Abstract : Diblock copolymer nano and microparticles are fabricated through nano spray‐drying. Particle morphology is controlled by tuning the solution chemistry, spraying conditions, and the following solvent annealing step. Hybrid organic–inorganic particles are fabricated by employing sequential infiltration synthesis, leading to the formation of hybrid block copolymer‐metal oxide particles and porous, block copolymer‐templated metal‐oxide particles.