Kim, Y-Y orcid.org/0000-0002-8503-4554, Fielding, LA, Kulak, AN orcid.org/0000-0002-2798-9301 et al. (5 more authors) (2018) Influence of the Structure of Block Copolymer Nanoparticles on the Growth of Calcium Carbonate. Chemistry of Materials, 30 (20). pp. 7091-7099. ISSN 0897-4756
Abstract
Block copolymer nanoparticles are versatile crystal growth additives that can be used to both modify crystal morphologies and introduce new properties through their occlusion within the crystal lattice. However, the structural features that make these nanoparticles such effective additives are as yet unclear. This study employs a series of copolymer nanoparticles comprising hydrophobic cores and coronas of carboxylate and hydroxyl polymer chains to establish the design rules that govern the activity of the nanoparticles. Systematic variation of the chemical composition of the nanoparticle coronas and the length of the chains enabled us to explore two closely linked phenomena: crystal habit modification and nanoparticle occlusion within the crystal lattice. We show that nanoparticle activity does not scale directly with carboxylate content and that nanoparticles comprising 50% carboxylate/50% hydroxyl groups were incorporated more effectively than those comprising 100% carboxylate chains. The accessibility of the carboxyl groups is also important, and activity is reduced when the carboxylate groups are embedded within the corona rather than being located on the particle surface. Finally, we demonstrate that occlusion and changes in crystal habit/morphology can occur independently. These results offer a new framework for designing nanoparticles as crystal growth additives, where this provides a novel strategy for preparing inorganic nanocomposites.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 American Chemical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Chemistry of Materials. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Inorganic Chemistry (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 Sep 2018 11:06 |
Last Modified: | 17 Sep 2019 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b02912 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:135966 |