From gas phase clusters to polymers: a route to novel materials

摘要

We describe several examples of gas phase and cluster polymerization with special emphasis on the connections and implications for the condensed phase systems. The applications of laser vaporization of metals to (1) induce the polymerization of liquid monomers, (2) to encapsulate ultrafine metal particles in polymer matrices and (3) to produce diverse metal-carbon nanoparticles, porous aggregates and higher fullerenes are demonstrated. These methods could be developed to generate new hybrid materials which combine several properties such as strength, toughness, elasticity, electrical conductivity and improved electro-optic performance.