Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brush Nanoreactor:Preparation of Hollow TiO_(2) Nanospheres and Characterization by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Titanium dioxide(TiO_(2))hollow nanoparticles present significant potential for photocatalytic applications while their straightforward preparation with precise structure control is still challenging.This work reports the approach to preparing tunable hollow TiO_(2) nanospheres by utilization of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes(SPB)as nanoreactors and templates.During the preparation,the evolution of the structure was characterized by small angle X-ray scattering(SAXS),and in combination with dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy.The formation of TiO_(2) shell within the brush(SPB@TiO_(2))is confirmed by the significant increase of the electron density,and its internal structure has been analyzed by fitting SAXS data,which can be influenced by Titanium precursors and ammonia concentration.After calcining SPB@TiO_(2) in a muffle furnace,hollow TiO_(2) nanospheres are produced,and their transition to the anatase crystal form is triggered,as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.Utilizing the advantages of their hollow structure,these TiO_(2) nanospheres exhibit exceptional catalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue(MB),tetracycline(TC),and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid(2,4-D),and also demonstrate excellent recyclability.

Preparation of Au/Ag Multilayers via Layer-by-Layer Self-assembly in Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes and Their Catalytic Activity

Spherical polyelectrolyte brushes （SPBs） consisting of polystyrene （PS） core and poly（2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride） （PAEMH） shell were prepared by photo-emulsion polymerization. Au nanoparticles （Au-NPs） with controlled size and size distribution were synthesized in situ using SPBs as nanoreactors. Via layer-by-layer deposition technique on the surface of SPBs, nano-composite particles with Au/Ag-NPs bilayer and Au/Ag/Au-NPs trilayer were prepared. The structures of the as-prepared Au/Ag multilayer SPBs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM, ICP-AES and DLS. The charge reversal of the nano-composite particles observed by zeta potential confirmed the success of layer-by-layer assembly. The Au/Ag-NPs bilayer nano-composite particles showed high catalytic efficiency with an apparent activation energy of about 41.2 kJ/mol in the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in the existence of sodium borohydride monitored. The catalytic activity ofAu/Ag-NPs multilayer SPBs close to that of Au-NPs SPBs and much higher than that of Ag-NPs SPBs reveals its potential applications in cost-effective catalysts with high-performance.

Conformation and Counterion Distribution of Polyelectrolyte in Solution as Viewed from Dielectric Approach

Polyelectrolyte solutions are more variable than uncharged macromolecule due to electrical interaction between charged molecules and surrounding counterions.Therefore,the subject of polyelectrolyte solutions has attracted a wide range of interests in both basic and applied research,and has also been extensively explored.However,the understanding of the molecular dynamics and conformation of polyelectrolytes in solution remains to be deepened,and universal consensus on some key issues have not been reached.Many methods have contributed to solving the above problems in different ways,including dielectric relaxation spectroscopy(DRS).In this perspective,we briefly reviewed the history of dielectric spectroscopic research on polyelectrolyte solution,with emphasis on summarizing our efforts.In particular,we expound the characteristics of DRS and its ability to obtain the internal information of the system of interest.Finally,we evaluate the advantages and limitations of the dielectric method and discussed future prospects of this field.

SYNTHESIS OF THERMO-AND pH-SENSITIVE POLYELECTROLYTE BRUSHES BY COMBINING THERMO-CONTROLLED EMULSION POLYMERIZATION AND PHOTO-EMULSION POLYMERIZATION

Bifunctional spherical polyelectrolyte brushes （SPBs） with tunable thermo-and pH-sensitivity are synthesized by combining therrno-controlled emulsion polymerization and photo-emulsion polymerization. They consist of a spherical polystyrene core and a shell of mixed brushes of poly（N-isopropylacrylamide） （PNIPAM） and poly（acrylic acid） （PAA） whose composition can be easily modulated by the dose of monomers. The kinetics of SPB synthesis as well as their size change with temperature and pH is determined by dynamic light scattering （DLS）. The scanning electron microscopy （SEM） images show that the bifunctional SPBs have a defined spherical morphology with a narrow size distribution.

Brownian Dynamics Simulations of Rigid Polyelectrolyte Chains Grafting to Spherical Colloid

Brownian dynamics simulations are employed to explore the effects of chain stiffness and trivalent salt concentration on the conformational behavior of spherical polyelectrolyte brush. The rigid brush adopts bundle-like morphology at a wide range of trivalent salt concentration. The number variation of bundles pinned on the colloid surface shows a non-monotonic profile as a function of the chain stiffness. The radial distributions of monomers and ions and the charge ratio between condensed ions and monomers are calculated. The charge inversion is observed for the high salt concentration regardless of chain rigidity. Furthermore, the pair correlation functions of monomer-monomer and monomer-salt cation are used to elucidate the aggregated mechanism of the bundle-like structure.