Janus particles: Fabrication, design and distribution in block copolymers

The quest for new smart materials with engineered properties and desired functionalities has recently driven scientists into the domain of nanotechnology. Incorporation of functional nanoparticles (NPs) into polymeric materials is an appealing research topic to generate highly ordered NP-based functional materials, which can be specifically used for flexible sensors, tunable plasmonic nanostructures for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, ultrafast switches and organic memory devices, and advanced photovoltaic devices. Janus-type NPs, that are defined as possessing different surface chemical/physical compositions on the two sides of the particles, are a specific kind of desired building blocks to be incorporated into polymeric matrices. Due to the unique combination of amphiphilicity and particle features, they are particularly promising in the precise organization of multicomponent NPs at the interface or surface of polymer matrices with a high degree of order. In the research presented in this thesis, we established a feasible technique to prepare Janus particles from spherical polystyrene templates with the assistance of carbon dioxide. By utilizing this approach, various types of Janus particles were designed and fabricated, with different sizes, varied Janus balances and diverse surface functionalities. Following the fabrication of Janus particles, the distribution of Janus particles within block copolymer matrices was studied with the aim to achieve highly ordered structures