Electrochemically engineered hybrid nanoarchitectures of polymers and nanoparticles

Abstract

Hybrid nanoarchitectures where inorganic nanoparticles are added into a polymer matrix can present superior characteristics and unique synergetic effects. However, the homogeneously structured and monodispersed hybrid film has been a critical challenge because of the intrinsic incompatibility of hydrophobic nanoparticles and hydrophobic polymers. This review focuses on hierarchically hybrid nanoarchitectures of polymers and nanoparticles by electrochemical approaches. Of many methods, the use of electrochemically bottom-up in situ synthesis can prepare the controlled layered and hybrid formations of polymers and nanoparticles. The advantages are film-forming ability from very dilute solutions of nanoparticles and polymers, and covalently cross-linked structural stability. The electrochemical approach has provided highly predicted functions and performances for applications mostly studied including sensor, catalysis, and optoelectric relatives. With these in hand, electrochemically engineered hybrid nanoarchitectures of polymers and nanoparticles hold promise for the fabrication of hierarchically ordered materials on hardly or flexibly conductive substrates with rational scales and dimensions.

Keywords

• Nanoarchitecture
• Electrochemical sensor
• Electrocatalysis
• Conducting polymers
• Nanoparticles
• Electropolymerization