The core-shell polymer- metal nanoparticle hybrids have a great potential for designing a new advanced materials with unique properties combining the properties of metal core and polymer shell. One of the most important size-related phenomena observed for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The SPR frequency strongly depends on the  size and shape of nanoparticles, dielectric properties of the surrounding chemical environment and  inter-nanoparticle coupling interactions. [1] Additionally,  appropriate modified AuNPs are excellent platform for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Thus AuNPs are promising to potential applications in highly sensitive chemical and biological sensors.[2] Simultaneously polymer shell in such materials improves stability and surface chemistry of core nanoparticles.[3] There are two major approach of synthesis of core-shell polymer hybrids: “grafting-from”[4] and “grafting-to”[5] methods combined with controlled/living  polymerization: anionic polymerization [6], ATRP [7] and RAFT polymerization [3].

We report a new method for the preparation of core-shell nanostructures based on  the covalent attachment of polymer chains to the gold nanoparticles covered by TEMPO  radicals [8] during nitroxide  mediated polymerization of styrene. The obtained material demonstrates strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR), narrow size distribution and uniform dispersion of metal cores in polymer matrix. The obtained nanohybrids have been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric and elemental analyses, UV-ViS, FTIR  spectroscopy and TEM observation. SEC analyses showed that the polymer shell in the obtained structures is built from polymer chains with narrow molecular weight distribution (PDI<1.2).

[1] U. Kreibig, M. Vollmer  (1995) Optical properties of metal clusters, Vol. 25. Springer, Berlin

[2] Daniel, M-C, Astruc, D. Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293-346 and references therein 

[3] J. Shan, H. Tenhu, Chem. Commun., 2007, 4580–4598.

[4] T. K. Mandal, M. S. Fleming, D. R. Walt, Nano Lett. 2002, 2, 3-7.

[5] W. P.Wuelfing, S. M. Gross, D. T. Miles, R. W. Murray, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 12696-12697.    

[6] M. K. Corbierre, N. S. Cameron, M. Sutton, S. G. J. Mochrie,

       L. B. Lurio, A. Ruhm, R. B. Lennox, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 10411-10412.

[7] S. Nuss,; H. Bottcher, H. Wurm,; Hallensleben, M. L. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 4016-4018.

[8] O. Swiech, R. Bilewicz, E. Megiel RSC Adv., RSC Advances  2013, 3, 5979-5986.

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