@article{2959263,
    title = "Micellization in pH-sensitive amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous media and the formation of metal nanoparticles",
    author = "Maria Vamvakaki and Lampros Papoutsakis and Vasilios Katsamanis and Theodora Afchoudia and Panagiota G. Fragouli and Hermis Iatrou and Nikos Hadjichristidis and Steve P. Armes and Stanislav Sidorov and Denis Zhirov and Vasilii Zhirov and Maxim Kostylev and Lyudmila M. Bronstein and Spiros H. Anastasiadis",
    journal = "Faraday Discussions",
    year = "2005",
    volume = "128",
    pages = "129",
    publisher = "Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)",
    issn = "0301-7249, 1364-5498",
    doi = "10.1039/b403414g",
    keywords = "amine;  copolymer;  macrogol derivative;  metal complex;  metal derivative;  polyethylene derivative;  polymethacrylic acid derivative;  polyvinyl derivative, aqueous solution;  article;  atomic force microscopy;  hydrophilicity;  hydrophobicity;  light scattering;  micelle;  micellization;  molecular size;  nanoparticle;  nanotechnology;  pH;  polymerization;  potentiometric titration;  proton transport;  reduction;  solubility;  synthesis;  transmission electron microscopy",
    abstract = "Dynamic light scattering, potentiometric titration, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy have been used to investigate the micellar behaviour and metal-nanoparticle formation in poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine), PEO-b-P2VP, poly(hexa(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)-block-poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate), PHEGMA-b-PDEAEMA, and PEO-b-PDEAEMA amphiphilic diblock copolymers in water. The hydrophobic block of these copolymers (P2VP or PDEAEMA) is pH-sensitive: at low pH it can be protonated and becomes partially or completely hydrophilic leading to molecular solubility whereas at higher pH micelles are formed. These micelles consist of a P2VP or PDEAEMA core and a PEO or PHEGMA corona, respectively, where the core forming amine units can incorporate metal compounds due to coordination. The metal compounds (e.g., H2PtCl6, K2PtCl 6) can either be introduced in a micellar solution, where they are incorporated within the micelle core via coordination with functional groups, or can be added to a unimer solution at low pH, where they lead to a metal-induced micellization. In these micellar nanoreactors, metal nanoparticles nucleate and grow upon reduction with sizes in the range of a few nanometers as observed by TEM. The effect of the metal incorporation method on the characteristics of the micelles and of the synthesized nanoparticles is investigated."
}