Nanostructured gold/conjugated polymer hybrids: Preparation, chemical structure and morphology

Conjugated micro and nanostructured Pd containing polymers, derived from a monosubstituted acetylene, namely 3-dimethylamino-1-propyne (DMPA), has been synthesized and used as matrix for the preparation of hybrid systems containing Au(0) nanoparticles, obtained by means of Metal Vapor Synthesis (MVS) technique. By this way the formation of a new heterobimetallic Au/Pd polymeric material was achieved. The novel hybrid was characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM) showing the Au/polymer interaction and the particle dispersion in the nanostructured polymer matrix. The morphology of the pristine polymer shows dendritic structures or compact enamels and upon formation of the hybrid a high surface extension was observed. HRTEM measurements showed in the Au/Pd–PDMPA hybrid system an almost homogeneously distributed population of gold particles with a main size value of 3.4 ± 1.4 nm.