Synthesis of hydrophobic polymer brushes on silica nanoparticles via the combination of surface-initiated ATRP, ROP and click chemistry

摘要

A fascinating nanoobject, hydrophobic polymer brushes with a hard core of silica nanoparticles and a relatively soft shell of polystyrene-block-poly(-caprolactone) (PS-b-PCL), was easily constructed by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene, ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of -caprolactone and click reaction. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared hybrid nanomaterials were characterized and confirmed by FTIR, 1H-NMR, TGA and TEM. We believe that the breakthrough associated with formation of such a complex nanoobject would open a door for the fabrication of novel functional nanomaterials or nanodevices with designable structure and tailor-made properties.