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 HAuCl4 or with elementary gold nanoclusters was studied by combined static and dynamic light scattering. A transformation in the morphology from spherical 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 copolymer below the critical micelle concentration, At this point, the polymer chains are molecularly dispersed and no longer able to prevent uncontrolled growth of the gold nanoclusters.