A Facile and Efficient Route to Achieve Polythiophene-Based Nanoparticles with Various Morphologies

Polythiophene-based nanoparticles (PTNPs), a prominent class of conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) with remarkable optical and electronic properties, have gained significant attention in applications such as electronics and bioimaging. However, current methods in generating PTNPs have run into obstacles including low variety of morphologies, poor reproducibility, and low preparation efficiency, restricting their further application. In this study, we report a facile and efficient fabrication strategy based on template synthesis method. This method combines polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) for the preparation of morphology precursors (PTN-templates) with subsequent oxidative polymerization to realize the construction of PTNPs. By systematically regulating composition, charge characteristics of hydrophilic segments, and solids content of the polymerization mixtures during RAFT-mediated PISA, a wide variety of PTN-templates with various morphologies were obtained. The successful synthesis of PTNPs with representative morphologies was confirmed through morphology retention, the formation of polythiophene chains, and the observed red shift in UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra. In summary, we have established important guidelines for efficient fabrication of PTNPs with diverse morphologies, which opens up new avenues for the synthesis of next-generation conjugated polymer nanomaterials and offers the opportunity for the large-scale preparation of conjugated polymer nanomaterials.