Shape-Controlled synthesis of silver nanoparticles in temperature-responsive grafted polymer brushes for optical applications

Abstract The polymeric coatings of poly(4-vinylpyridine), poly(oligo(ethylene glycol)ethyl ether methacrylate246) and poly(4-vinylpyridine -co- oligo(ethylene glycol)ethyl ether methacrylate246) attached to glass using oligoperoxide initiator were successfully fabricated and then silver ions were immobilized in coatings. Silver nanoparticles were included in polymer matrixes using sodium borohydride as reducing agent of the immobilized silver ions. The composition and morphology of resulting coatings were analyzed. First, strong impact of the chemical nature of the grafted polymer brushes on the shape of the silver nanoparticles (sphere-like shape, nanorods and weakly branched dendritic nanostructures) was shown. In addition, the influence of the temperature on coating morphology and optical effects of the silver nanoparticles were demonstrated using Atomic Force Microscopy and UV–VIS spectroscopy.