Fully Reversible Quantitative Phase Transfer of Gold Nanoparticles Using Bifunctional PNIPAM Ligands.

Ligand exchange with end-functionalized polymers is often applied to render nanoparticles with enhanced colloidal stability, to change the solubility in various environments, and/or to introduce new functionalities. Here we show that exchange of citrate molecules with α-trithiocarbonate-ω-carboxyl-terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) can successfully stabilize spherical gold particles of different diameters ranging from 15 to 53 nm. This is verified by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and extinction spectroscopy.

Tailoring Supramolecular Nanofibers for Air Filtration Applications.

The demand of new materials and processes for nanofiber fabrication to enhance the performance of air filters is steadily increasing. Typical approaches to obtain nanofibers are based on top-down processes such as melt blowing, centrifugal spinning, and electrospinning of polymer materials. However, fabrication of polymer nanofibers is limited with respect to either a sufficiently high throughput or the smallest achievable fiber diameter.