Polymeric Nanocubes Spontaneously Formed from Poly(ε-caprolactone).

Abstract

A facile and economical approach was successfully developed to prepare polymeric nanocubes from poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). Nanocubes which are rarely achieved with polymer were obtained simply by a proper thermal treatment on PCL thin film on a glass slide or silicon wafer. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation showed that the nanocubes were as small as ∼70 nm with high yield (up to ∼130 000 nanocubes in 1 cm2 area). The combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and fast Fourier transform (FFT) demonstrated that these particles were single nanocrystals. We suggest that the formation of these nanocubes is based on a dewetting and crystallization mechanism. In addition, the size and yield of nanocubes could be controlled by the solution concentration and architecture of polymer as well as substrate. This work might not only facilitate gaining further basic knowledge about nucleation and crystalline growth mechanism of PCL but also provide a new way to fabricate nonspherical polymeric nanoparticles.