Poly(9‐vinylcarbazole)/silver composite nanotubes and networks formed at the air–water interface

Abstract

Silver-nanoparticle-doped poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) nanocomposites were prepared via the reduction of Ag þ ions and the self-assembly of PVK on AgNO 3 aqueous solution surfaces. The formed composite nanostructures depended strongly on the experimental temperature. Thick round disks of PVK surrounded by discrete Ag nanoparticles and/or with irregular holes formed at room temperature; nanotubes and micronetworks doped with Ag nanoparticles formed at about 30-40 C, and networks formed at higher temperature. Further investigation revealed that the nanotubes were transformed from thin round disks. The length of the PVK/Ag composite nanotubes were longer than 10 lm, and the average size of the embedded Ag nanoparticles was found to be about 3.5 nm. The composite networks were composed of round pores with diameters of several hundred nanometers and fine silver nanoparticles embedded in the thin polymer films that covered the pores. The formation of the nanotubes was a very interesting self-assembly phenomenon of the polymer at the air-water interface that has not been reported before.

Polycarbazole and Its Derivatives: Synthesis and Applications. A Review of the Last 10 Years

“…Similarly, Wang et al [ 137 ] synthesized poly(9-vinylcarbazole)/silver nanocomposites by in situ formation of silver nanotubes and networks formed at the air–water interface via the reduction of Ag + ions. The structures of the silver nanotubes were strongly dependent of the experimental conditions such as temperature.…”

Inorganic–Organic Interpenetrating Network Hydrogels as Tissue‐Integrating Luminescent Implants: Physicochemical Characterization and Preclinical Evaluation

“…This is consistent with previous TRIS‐containing IPN hydrogel reports for contact lenses. [ 15,18 ] However, the loss in transparency seen here was considerable and therefore was investigated further for an underlying cause. We hypothesized that, because TRIS is hydrophobic, at the higher concentrations of TRIS (70–80% in the first network) portions of pTRIS would not be adequately reinforced by the pDMA second network.…”

“…Nicholson and Wang describe the TRIS and DMA construct morphology as isotropic, yet heterogeneous, with distinct, intertwining, hydrophobic silicone domains and hydrophilic DMA domains to allow molecular transport between each other, resulting in high oxygen transport properties in the overall gel. [ 2,15 ] Fortuitously, the same oxygen diffusion properties are desired for the subcutaneous, fully implantable biosensors described above. However, to our knowledge, IPNs have not been evaluated for performance in these optical sensing applications.…”

“…In the case of contact lenses, these attributes include excellent optical clarity, high oxygen permeability, low modulus with flexural toughness, wettability/hydration, and resistance to fouling by proteins and other particulate matter. [ 2,3,7–19 ]…”

Fabrication of composite thin films with microstructures of honeycomb, foam, and nanosphere arrays through adsorption and self-assembly of block copolymers at the liquid/liquid interface

“…Various approaches have been proposed and developed to prepare polymer-based composites, which can be classified into blending [3,4], layer-by-layer assembling [5,6], emulsion polymerization [7,8] or hard template-directed polymerization/adsorption [9,10], electrospun/adsorption [11,12], and self-assembly methods [13,14]. The former two kinds of methods are most commonly used.…”