Aqueous self-assembly of amphiphilic nanocrystallo-polymers and their surface-active properties.

Abstract

The self-assembly of nanocrystals using a bottom-up approach is advantageous because it is possible to control their direct structure at a nanometre length scale and their collective optical and electronic properties. Here, we present the novel fabrication and aqueous self-assembly of amphiphilic nanocrystallo-polymers. Hydrophobic nanocrystals are used as the hydrophobic component of amphiphiles, and they can drive the hydrophobic interaction-mediated direct self-assembly to create various nanostructures, such as spherical aggregates, core-shell unimolecular micelles, and cylinders. The nanocrystals can be uniformly arranged in the core of the nanostructures. We further show that the amphiphilic nanocrystallo-polymers have dynamic self-assembling and surface-active properties.