Polymerization Initiation By Reactive Metal Nanoparticles

We report here on the stabilization of reactive metal nanoparticles (RMNPs) using various polymerization schemes. The highly electron rich nature of the freshly-produced RMNP surface allows initiation of polymerization of various monomers, including epoxides, alkenes, alkynes, diols, and esters to form polymer layers on the nanoparticle's surface. The oligomer layer properties can be varied to produce nanoparticle-polymer composites with tunable and controllable reactivity.