Synthesis of amphiphilic silver nanoparticles in nanoreactors from invertible polyester.

A silver complex is transformed into amphiphilic nanoparticles at room temperature using nanoreactors formed from an amphiphilic polyester. It takes a few minutes to form silver nanocolloids with a narrow particle size distribution. Developed silver forms a stable dispersion in both polar and nonpolar media.

Graft polymerization from a silica surface initiated by adsorbed peroxide macroinitiators. I. Adsorption and structure of the adsorbed layer of peroxide macroinitiators on a silica surface.

The adsorption features of two peroxide macroinitiators (PMIs) with various functionalities from their semi-dilute solutions on the silica surface were thoroughly investigated in the present work. These investigations include the study of the adsorption kinetics of PMI in diverse solvents and a detailed examination of the adsorbed layer structure with the aid of ellipsometry, scanning force microscopy (SFM), and contact angle measurements. Rearrangements of PMI macromolecules at the solid surface are supposed to be the main reason for the appearance of extremes on the kinetic curves and, besides, have a more pronounceable effect on adsorption rate than their diffusion rate to the surface even at the initial stage of the process.

Self-assembly of functional nanostructures from ABC triblock copolymers.

The spontaneous formation of nanostructured materials by molecular self-assembly of block copolymers is an active area of research, driven both by its inherent beauty and by a wealth of potential technological applications. Thin films of block copolymers have attracted increasing interest, particularly in view of possible applications in nanotechnology. Although much of the work has concentrated on block copolymers consisting of two components, the insertion of a third block greatly enlarges the structural diversity and allows incorporation of additional chemical functionality.