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Facile Formation of Redox‐Active Totally Organic Nanoparticles in Water by In Situ Reduction of Organic Precursors Stabilized through Aromatic–Aromatic Interactions by Aromatic Polyelectrolytes
Author(s) -
Flores Mario E.,
GarcésJerez Pablo,
Fernández Daniel,
ArosPerez Gustavo,
GonzálezCabrera Diego,
Álvarez Eduardo,
Cañas Ignacio,
OyarzunAmpuero Felipe,
MorenoVilloslada Ignacio
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201600339
Subject(s) - polyelectrolyte , nanoparticle , chemistry , sulfonate , redox , aromaticity , chlorine , molecule , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , inorganic chemistry , photochemistry , materials science , nanotechnology , polymer , sodium
The formation of redox‐active, totally organic nanoparticles in water is achieved following a strategy similar to that used to form metal nanoparticles. It is based on two fundamental concepts: i) complexation through aromatic–aromatic interactions of a water‐soluble precursor aromatic molecule with polyelectrolytes bearing complementary charged aromatic rings, and ii) reduction of the precursor molecule to achieve stabilized nanoparticles. Thus, formazan nanoparticles are synthesized by reduction of a tetrazolium salt with ascorbic acid using polyelectrolytes bearing benzene sulfonate residues of high linear aromatic density, but cannot be formed in the presence of nonaromatic polyelectrolytes. The red colored nanoparticles are efficiently encapsulated in calcium alginate beads, showing macroscopic homogeneity. Bleaching kinetics with chlorine show linear rates on the order of tenths of millimeters per minute. A linear behavior of the dependence of the rate of bleaching on the chlorine concentration is found, showing the potential of the nanoparticles for chlorine sensing.