Dialysis nanoprecipitation of polystyrene nanoparticles

Chuan Zhang, Jae Woo Chung, Rodney D. Priestley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using a facile dialysis nanoprecipitation method, nanoparticles of several hundred nanometers have been successfully generated from a "traditional, " non-biodegradable polymer, that is, polystyrene. The effect of initial polymer concentration inside the dialysis membrane, as well as the polymer/solvent system and the ionic strength (electrolyte concentration) of the dialysis solution, on nanoparticle size is examined. A nucleation-aggregation mechanism has been provided to explain the observed trends. Furthermore, we determine the zeta potential as a function of ionic strength for the generated nanoparticles and show that anionic charging may be present in the system.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1798-1803
Number of pages6
JournalMacromolecular Rapid Communications
Volume33
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 26 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Materials Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Organic Chemistry

Keywords

  • dialysis
  • nanoparticles
  • nanoprecipitation
  • polymer
  • polystyrene

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