In Situ Synthesis of Coil–Coil Diblock Copolymer Nanotubes and Tubular Ag/Polymer Nanocomposites by RAFT Dispersion Polymerization in Poly(ethylene glycol)

Abstract

Hollow polymeric nanotubes have the potential to be employed as advanced nanomaterials in a variety of applications; however, their synthesis from the assembly of coil–coil diblock copolymers (DBCPs) has typically been limited. Herein, we report a novel method for synthesis of coil–coil DBCP nanotubes by implementing RAFT dispersion polymerization in low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). This method for the in situ synthesis of coil–coil DBCP nanotubes is particularly versatile and can be achieved with a range of block copolymers including poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-polystyrene (PNIPAM-b-PS), poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-polystyrene (P4VP-b-PS), and poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-polystyrene (PMMA-b-PS). Using this approach, several interesting coil–coil DBCP tubular morphologies are observed, including single-wall nanotubes, multiwall nanotubes, and porous nanotubes. Furthermore, RAFT dispersion polymerization conducted in the presence of Ag nanoparticles can be used to yield complex t...