Hydrophobic Monomers Recognize Microenvironments in Hydrogel Microspheres during Free‐Radical‐Seeded Emulsion Polymerization. (28th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Watanabe, Takumi; Nishizawa, Yuichiro; Minato, Haruka; Song, Chihong; Murata, Kazuyoshi; Suzuki, Daisuke
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie. Volume 132:Number 23(2020)
• Page Start: 8934
• Page End: 8938
• Publication Date: 2020-04-28
• Subjects: cryo-electron microscopy -- hydrogel microspheres -- microgels -- nanocomposite materials -- seeded emulsion polymerization; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.202003493
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0044-8249

Abstract

Abstract: The three‐dimensional structure of nanocomposite microgels was precisely determined by cryo‐electron micrography. Several nanocomposite microgels that differ with respect to their nanocomposite structure, which were obtained from seeded emulsion polymerization in the presence of microgels, were used as model nanocomposite materials for cryo‐electron micrography. The obtained three‐dimensional segmentation images of these nanocomposite microgels provide important insights into the interactions between the hydrophobic monomers and the microgels, that is, hydrophobic styrene monomers recognize molecular‐scale differences in polarity within the microgels during the emulsion polymerization. This result led to the formation of unprecedented multi‐layered nanocomposite microgels, which promise substantial potential in colloidal applications. Abstract : Cryo‐ET for nanocomposites : Cryo‐electron tomography (cryo‐ET), which allows the characterization of nanomaterial morphology in the hydrated state by embedding samples in vitreous ice, was used to examine various types of water‐swollen nanocomposite microgels. Segmentation images provide important insights into the interactions between the hydrophobic monomers and the microgels, allowing the fabrication of multi‐layered nanocomposite microgels.