Nanoengineering with RAFT polymers: from nanocomposite design to applications

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization is a powerful tool for the precise formation of macromolecular building blocks that can be used for the construction of well-defined nanocomposites. Especially when combining RAFT polymers with uniform inorganic/metallic nanoparticles, a vast variety of complex nanocomposites become available that may find applications especially in the field of life sciences, e.g., bio-imaging, drug delivery or cancer-therapy, but also in areas such as energy conversion or catalysis. RAFT polymerization not only provides the possibility to control the size and the macromolecular architecture of the polymer building blocks, but inherently delivers highly functional end-groups that can often directly be employed as linker-sites for installing the polymeric components into the final nanocomposites. This review describes recent advances in this vivid field and concentrates on innovations in the fabrication method and design strategies for polymer/inorganic nanohybrids. The methodology of synthesizing RAFT polymer with the aim of surface functionalization and the design options for anchoring RAFT polymer on surfaces are covered. A series of core–shell nanostructures with the focus on novel functionalities brought by RAFT polymer brushes will be reviewed with focus on the detailed macromolecular design for each specific application's scenario. Examples of ordered nano-assemblies using RAFT polymer linkers will be reviewed in order to demonstrate the advantages of RAFT polymer for introducing different morphologies, interactions and chirality to the final functional nanostructures.