Synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside polyelectrolyte brushes

In this work we report on the synthesis and characterization of Au nanoparticles grown in the inner environment of cationic polyelectrolyte brushes. The nanocomposite synthesis relies on loading the macromolecular film with AuCl4− precursor ions followed by their in situ reduction to Au nanoparticles. We observed that the nanoparticles are uniform in size and are fully stabilized by the surrounding polyelectrolyte chains. Moreover, XRR analysis revealed that the Au NPs are formed within the polymer-brush layer. AFM experiments confirmed that the swelling behaviour of the brush layer is not perturbed by the presence of the loaded NPs. The Au NP-poly-METAC nanocomposite is remarkably stable to aqueous environments, suggesting the feasibility of using this kind of nanocomposite systems as robust and reliable stimuli-responsive platforms.