Gold nanoparticles endowed with low-temperature colloidal stability by cyclic polyethylene glycol in ethanol
M. Ali Aboudzadeh, Joscha Kruse, María Sanromán Iglesias, Daniele Cangialosi, Ángel Alegría, Marek Grzelczak, Fabienne Barroso‐Bujans
Abstract
) in ethanol suffer from reversible phase separation upon a temperature drop over the course of a few hours. However, the use of a polymer brush with cyclic topology as a stabilizer prevents sedimentation, ensuring the colloidal stability in ethanol at -25 °C for, at least, four months. We postulate that temperature-driven collapse of chain brushes promotes the interpenetration of linear chains, causing progressive AuNP sedimentation, a process that is unfavorable for cyclic polymer brushes whose topology prevents chain interpenetration. This study reinforces the notion about the importance of polymer topology on the colloidal stability of AuNPs.