Rigid polymer nanoparticle coatings

Work by Sabina Maskey and Dvora Perahia of Clemson University and Matt Lane and Gary Grest at Sandia, describing the unique morphologies possible when nanoparticles are grafted with rigid luminescent polymers like dialkyl poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s (PPEs) and placed in poor solvents. The macromolecules assemble into bundles, exhibiting a distinctively different interfacial structure than that formed by grafted flexible and semiflexible polymers.

The images show the rigid nanoparticle (yellow) and grafted polymers (green) in different morphologies from compact to extended.