Solution behavior of poly(styrene)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine micelles containing gold nanoparticles

Formation and structural transformation of inverse poly(styrene)-block-poly (2-vinylpyridine) micelles whose polyvinylpyridine core was loaded with HAu Cl4 or with elementary gold nanoclusters was studied by combined static and dynamic light scattering. A transformation in the morphology from spherica l particles (small R-g/R-h ratio) to large anisomeric objects (large R-g/R- h ratio) was observed by decreasing the concentration of the block copolyme r below the critical micelle concentration, At this point, the polymer chai ns are molecularly dispersed and no longer able to prevent uncontrolled gro wth of the gold nanoclusters.