Preparation of a polymer containing indole groups by RAFT polymerization and one-phase synthesis of AuNPs-polymer nanocomposites

A one-phase synthesis of AuNPs-polymer nanocomposites using HAuCl4 as the precursor is reported in this article. A flexible polymer, poly(2-(4-(di(1H-indol-3-yl)methyl)phenoxy) ethyl methacrylate) (PMPEM), containing indole groups on the side chain was utilized as both a reducing reagent and soft template in the system. The PMPEM-Au nanocomposites with three different sizes of AuNPs (25-50, 2, and 5 nm) were obtained just through choosing different solvents such as toluene, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and N,N-dimethylformamide, respectively. Nanocomposites including the size of 25-50 and 2 nm AuNPs showed strong NLO absorption and refraction behaviors. The nonlinear refractive index n2 of PMPEM-Au nanocomposites prepared in toluene and THF were 9.35 x 10-11 and 1.85 x 10-10 m2/W, third-order susceptibility (3) were 2.55 x 10-11 and 4.26 x 10-11 esu, respectively. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013