Host–guest complexation modulated aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly for monodisperse hierarchical nanoflowers

Abstract

This work presents a one-step synthesis of monodisperse nanoflowers by aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), modulated by host–guest interactions. Owing to the low monomer swelling of nanoparticles restricted by host–guest complexation, hierarchical surficial micellar structures were generated at the outer surface of the vesicles, forming fractal nanoflowers with a diameter polydispersity as low as 1.01. Our method allows the straightforward synthesis of monodisperse hierarchical nanoparticles for a wide range of applications.