Linear nano-templates of styrene and maleic anhydride alternating copolymers

Poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (SMA) self-assembles in aqueous solution to form nanotube structures. These can be used as templates to linearly guide the growth of a secondary polymeric or inorganic material. Templates are made starting from a basic SMA solution, followed by slow pH decrease by dialysis against deionized water, until a 50% degree of protonation is reached. The nanotube structure is composed of multiple polymer chains, associating sideways by π-stacking to form the nanotube walls. The SMA templates were used to grow linear composites, which shows the applicability of the template properties and also confirms the nanotube association mechanism. Linear polymer composites were formed using this SMA template: pyrrole was polymerized, silver nitrate was reduced to silver and silver cyanide nanowires were grown.