Helical packing of nanoparticles confined in cylindrical domains of a self-assembled block copolymer structure

Abstract

Theoretical models predict that a variety of self-assembled structures of closely packed spherical particles may result when they are confined in a cylindrical domain. In the present work we demonstrate for the first time that the polymer-coated nanoparticles confined in the self-assembled cylindrical domains of a block copolymer pack in helical morphology, where we can isolate individual fibers filled with helically arranged nanoparticles. This finding provides unique possibilities for fundamental as well as application-oriented research in similar directions. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.