(405e) Polymer-Metal Composite Nanoparticles Via Vapor Phase Deposition Processes Onto Liquid Substrates

The tuning of polymer nanoparticles is important for applications in catalysis, optics, and electronics. Metal nanoparticles have already shown promise in these applications because of their high surface area-to-volume ratio and durability. However, methods to create polymer-metal nanocomposites are expensive, time consuming, and require the use of many solvents. In this work, we combine the vapor deposition methods of sputter deposition and initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) to create metal-polymer composite nanoparticles. By combining these two vapor deposition methods, we are able to tune the polymer-metal composite functionality independently. We characterize the resulting structures using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy.