Immobilization of Inorganic Nanoparticles on Responsive Polymer Brushes

Exploitation of well defined responsive polymer brushes for direct and controlled immobilization of metal/semiconductor nanoparticles on macroscopic surfaces has been demonstrated. The employed approach offers the possibility of the organization of a variety of inorganic nanoparticles by irreversible bonding and homogenous distribution on an underlying substrate. The immobilization process has been realized by chemical grafting of a variety of polymer brushes on a suitable substrate followed by the attachment of pre-/in-situ formed nanoparticles exploiting the chemical/physical interactions between surface functionalities of nanoparticles and polymer chain segments. A number of polymer brushes including poly (acrylic acid), polystyrene, poly (2-vinyl pyridine) and poly (N-isopropyl acrylamide) brushes have been prepared on silicon substrate by the “grafting to” approach. A variety of inorganic nanoparticles such as quantum dots (CdTe) noble metals (gold and silver) and magnetic (Fe3O4) were immobilized on macroscopic surfaces to impart them photo luminescent, catalytic or magnetic properties. In addition, responsiveness of grafted polymer brushes in terms of variation in thickness (due to changes in chain conformation) as a function of external stimuli such as solvent and pH allowed to use the resulting polymer brush-nanoparticles nanoassemblies in the fabrication of nanosensors. The design of fabricated nanosensors is based on the modulation in the interparticle distance of immobilized nanoparticles due to swelling/deswelling of underlined polymer brushes in response to some external trigger.

Level thesis:degree_level

thesis.doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher

Technische Universität Dresden

Year

2008

Author dc:creator

• Gupta, Smrati

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stamm, Manfred
• Adler, Hans-Jürgen Peter
• Varma, Indira Kumari

• Polymer brushes
• Nanoparticles
• Immobilization
• Polymerbürsten
• Nanopartikel
• Immobilisierung