Water-soluble light-emitting nanoparticles prepared by non-covalent bond self-assembly of functionalized poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s and poly(acrylic acid)

A series of water-soluble light-emitting nanoparticles were prepared from functionalized poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s(PPE) and water-soluble poly(acrylic acid)(PAA) by non-covalent bond self-assembly. Their structures and optoelectronic properties were investigated through dynamic light scattering(DLS), UV and PL spectroscopy. These results show a correlation between the size of the nanoparticles so formed and the mass ratio of PAA/PPE used. It was also found that after formation of nanoparticles in aqueous solution, the hydrophobic PPE chains tended to form π-interchain aggregation, just as it did in the solid state.