Scalable Synthesis of Photoluminescent Single-Chain Nanoparticles by Electrostatic-Mediated Intramolecular Crosslinking

Yue Shao; Yong-Lei Wang; Zian Tang; Zhendong Wen; Chiawei Chang; Chunyu Wang; Dayin Sun; Yilan Ye; Dong Qiu; Yubin Ke; Feng Liu; Zhenzhong Yang

doi:10.1002/anie.202205183

Scalable Synthesis of Photoluminescent Single-Chain Nanoparticles by Electrostatic-Mediated Intramolecular Crosslinking

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Jul 4;61(27):e202205183. doi: 10.1002/anie.202205183. Epub 2022 May 9.

Authors

Yue Shao¹, Yong-Lei Wang^{2

3}, Zian Tang¹, Zhendong Wen¹, Chiawei Chang¹, Chunyu Wang¹, Dayin Sun¹, Yilan Ye¹, Dong Qiu⁴, Yubin Ke⁵, Feng Liu⁶, Zhenzhong Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
² Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Department of Electrochemical Energy Storage, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, 14109, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100180, China.
⁵ Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China.
⁶ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.

PMID: 35470952
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202205183

Abstract

We report the large-scale synthesis of photoluminescent single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) by electrostatic-mediated intramolecular crosslinking in a concentrated solution of 40 mg mL^-1 by continuous addition of the free radical initiator. Poly(vinyl benzyl chloride) was charged by quaternization with vinyl-imidazolium for the intramolecular crosslinking by using 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (DMAP) as the radical initiator. Under the electrostatic repulsion thus interchain isolation, the intrachain crosslinking experiences the transition from coil through pearl-necklace to globular state. The SCNPs demonstrate strong photoluminescence in the visible range when the non-emissive units are confined thereby. Composition and microstructure of the SCNPs are tunable. The photoluminescent tadpole-like Janus SCNP can be used to selectively illuminate interfacial membranes while stabilizing the emulsions.

Keywords: Clusterization-Triggered Emission; Electrostatic Repulsion; Intramolecular Crosslinking; Single-Chain Nanoparticles.

Abstract

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