Thermally-induced (re)shaping of core-shell nanocrystalline particles

Confinement of poly(E-caprolactone) (PCL) within a cross-linked shell limits the crystal growth to nanoscale dimensions and allows for the thermal melting and crystallization transitions to be exploited as a means to transform the shapes of discrete nanostructured materials between disks and spheres in solution. When adsorbed onto a substrate, the disc-shaped nanostructures undergo an annealing process, which narrows the particle height distribution. Dynamic light scattering and differential scanning calorimetry are techniques that characterize the average behavior for ensembles of nanoparticles, whereas atomic force microscopy is utilized as a method to monitor the response of individual nanoparticles to the thermal treatment. This study represents an adaptation of the thermal reshaping processes that are more commonly employed for inorganic nanocrystals.