Wrapping Individual Chains of a Viologen Polymer with an Ultrathin Silicate Sheath

Wrapped polymer chains, consisting of a single strand of a positively charged polymer as stuffing and a thin silicate skin, have been obtained by mixing a polymeric viologen bromide and sodium silicate in basic medium. The nanostrands, which are 2.5 nm wide and up to 60 nm long, were visualized by transmission electron microscopy with Gd3+ staining (see Figure, scale bar = 10 nm).