Unraveling the Single-Nanometer Thickness of Shells of Vesicle-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules

Authors

Andrew G. Richter, Valparaiso University
Sergey A. Dergunov, University of Connecticut
Mariya D. Kim, University of Connecticut
Sergey N. Shmakov, University of Connecticut
Sai Venkatesh Pingali, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Volker S. Urban, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Yun Liu, University of Delaware
Eugene Pinkhassik, University of Connecticut

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-17-2017

Journal Title

The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters

Volume

8

Abstract

Vesicle-templated nanocapsules have emerged as a viable platform for diverse applications. Shell thickness is a critical structural parameter of nanocapsules, where the shell plays a crucial role providing mechanical stability and control of permeability. Here we used small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to determine the thickness of freestanding and surfactant-stabilized nanocapsules. Despite being at the edge of detectability, we were able to show the polymer shell thickness to be typically 1.0 ± 0.1 nm, which places vesicle-templated nanocapsules among the thinnest materials ever created. The extreme thinness of the shells has implications for several areas: masstransport through nanopores is relatively unimpeded; pore-forming molecules are not limited to those spanning the entire bilayer; the internal volume of the capsules is maximized; and insight has been gained on how polymerization occurs in the confined geometry of a bilayer scaffold, being predominantly located at the phase-separated layer of monomers and cross-linkers between the surfactant leaflets.

Recommended Citation

Richter, A. G., Dergunov, S. A., Kim, M. D., Shmakov, S. N., Pingali, S. V., Urban, V. S., Liu, Y. and Pinkhassik, E. "Unraveling the Single-Nanometer Thickness of Shells of Vesicle-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules" The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 8(15): 3630-3636 (2017)