Gold Particles as Templates for the Synthesis of Hollow Polymer Capsules. Control of Capsule Dimensions and Guest Encapsulation

Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 1999 papers

Abstract

A method for synthesizing hollow nanoscopic polypyrrole and poly(N-methylpyrrole) capsules is described. The method employs gold nanoparticles as templates for polymer nucleation and growth. Etching the gold leaves a structurally intact hollow polymer capsule with a shell thickness governed by polymerization time (ca. 5 to >100 nm) and a hollow core diameter dictated by the diameter of the template particle (ca. 5−200 nm). Transport rates of gold etchant through the polymer shell to the gold core were found to depend on the oxidation state of the polymer, those rates being a factor of 3 greater for the reduced form of the polymer. We show for the first time that not only is the particle a useful template material but also that it can be employed to deliver guest molecules into the capsule core. For example, ligands attached to the gold surface prior to poly(N-methylpyrrole) formation remained trapped inside the hollow capsule following polymer formation and gold etching.

Related Papers

• → Template routes to interlocked molecular structures and orderly molecular entanglements(2000)376 cited
• → Interaction of the Nucleation Processes Occurring at Adjacent Nucleation Sites(1993)103 cited
• → Critical Nucleus Size and Activation Energy of Ag Nucleation by Electrochemical Observation of Isolated Nucleation Events(2023)15 cited
• → Use of the Given® Patency System for the screening of patients at high risk for capsule retention(2006)98 cited
• → Role of nucleation in some hydride formation kinetics(1987)22 cited