1 research outputs found
Polymeric Nanocubes Spontaneously Formed from Poly(ε-caprolactone)
A facile and economical approach was successfully developed
to
prepare polymeric nanocubes from polyÂ(ε-caprolactone) (PCL).
Nanocubes which are rarely achieved with polymer were obtained simply
by a proper thermal treatment on PCL thin film on a glass slide or
silicon wafer. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and
atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation showed that the nanocubes
were as small as ∼70 nm with high yield (up to ∼130 000
nanocubes in 1 cm<sup>2</sup> area). The combination of high-resolution
transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and fast Fourier transform
(FFT) demonstrated that these particles were single nanocrystals.
We suggest that the formation of these nanocubes is based on a dewetting
and crystallization mechanism. In addition, the size and yield of
nanocubes could be controlled by the solution concentration and architecture
of polymer as well as substrate. This work might not only facilitate
gaining further basic knowledge about nucleation and crystalline growth
mechanism of PCL but also provide a new way to fabricate nonspherical
polymeric nanoparticles