Evolution of Self-Assembled Structures of Polymer-Terminated Gold Nanorods in Selective Solvents

The evolution of self-assembled structures of polymer-terminated gold nanorods in ternary solvent mixtures is governed by the competition of the side-by-side and end-to-end association modes of the nanorods. This competition arises from the different solubilities of the blocks in the solvent mixture. The effects of solvent composition and water content are also described and explained.