| Abstract
| - The synthesis of hybrid nanoparticles was conducted by the atom transfer radicalpolymerization (ATRP) of styrene and (meth)acrylates from colloidal surfaces. Colloidal initiators wereprepared by the functionalization of silica colloids with 2-bromoisobutyrate groups. ATRP from colloidalsurfaces was then performed to attach well-defined homopolymers and block copolymers to an inorganiccore. Kinetics of the ATRP of styrene (Sty), n-butyl acrylate (BA), and methyl methacrylate (MMA) underidentical reaction conditions were investigated. Hybrid nanoparticles containing block copolymers of pSty-b-pBA (Mn = 22 300; Mw/Mn = 1.20), pMMA-b-pBA (Mn = 29 400; Mw/Mn = 1.28), and pBA-b-pMMA (Mn= 17 300; Mw/Mn = 1.28) were prepared, and hydrolysis of silica cores by hydrofluoric acid treatmentenabled characterization of cleaved copolymers using size exclusion chromatography and 1H NMR.Ultrathin films of hybrid nanoparticles were examined using transmission electron microscopy and atomicforce microscopy.
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