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A facile method for the stain-free visualization of hierarchical structures with electron microscopy


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Authors

Williams, PE 
Appel, EA 
Jones, ST 
Barrio, JD 

Abstract

Diblock copolymers form hierarchical morphologies with numerous applications in drug delivery and as nanoreactors. Yet, the visualization of these structures by electron microscopy can be extremely difficult, requiring complex staining techniques with associated health risks and the potential to alter structural morphology. Reported here is the synthesis of diblock copolymers by RAFT containing 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl functionality allowing for facile visualization of their resulting hierarchical structures by TEM with no further sample preparation.

Description

Keywords

polymers, electron microscopy, nanomaterials, macromolecules

Journal Title

Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0887-624X
1099-0518

Volume Title

53

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
European Research Council (240629)
European Commission (273807)
P.E.W. thanks the AWE and E.A. thanks Schlumberger for financial support, and J.d.B is grateful for a Marie Curie Intraeuropean Fellowship (project # 273807). This work was also supported by an ERC Starting Investigator Grant (ASPiRe) and a Next Generation Fellowship provided by the Walters-Kundert Foundation.