Amphiphilic Block Copolymer-Guided in Situ Fabrication of Stable and Highly Controlled Luminescent Copper Nanoassemblies

Assembling instable ultrasmall nanoparticles (NPs) into uniform nanoarchitectures with excellent stability and controllability in aqueous solution is still challenging. Herein, taking the advantage of controllable size and shape of amphiphilic triblock copolymer template, we report a facile and robust strategy for in situ fabrication of highly luminescent Cu nanoassemblies with uniform morphology and remarkable stability. The dominant number of encapsulated CuNPs in an assembly can be controlled through regulating hydrophobic core size by varying block segments of the template. The cross-linking by a multidentate thiol ligand largely enhances the emission and stability of the Cu nanoassemblies in physiological environment. By virtue of their intriguing features, the Cu nanoassemblies can be applied to possible biomedical applications. These findings establish our approach as a facile and feasible method for preparing stable and well-controlled ultrasmall metal NP-based assemblies.