Polymer-Grafted Gold Colloids and Supracolloids: From Mechanisms of Formation to Dynamic Soft Matter

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles represent nanosized colloidal entities with high relevance for both basic and applied research. When gold nanoparticles are functionalized with polymer-molecule ligands, hybrid nanoparticles emerge whose interactions with the environment are controlled by the polymer coating layer: Colloidal stability and structure formation on the single particle level as well as at the supracolloidal scale can be enabled and engineered by tailoring the composition and architecture of this polymer coating. These possibilities in controlling structure formation may lead to synergistic and/or emergent functional properties of such hybrid colloidal systems. Eventually, the responsivity of the polymer coating to external triggers also enables the formation of hybrid supracolloidal systems with specific dynamic properties. This review provides an overview of fundamentals and recent developments in this vibrant domain of materials science.