Byeong‐Su Kim

We present the integration of amphiphilic block copolymer micelles as nanometer-sized vehicles for hydrophobic drugs within layer-by-layer (LbL) films using alternating hydrogen bond interactions as the driving force for assembly for the first time, thus enabling the incorporation of drugs and pH-sensitive release. The film was constructed based on the hydrogen bonding between poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as an H-bond donor and biodegradable poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PEO

We report the synthesis, characterization, and covalent surface chemistry of "magnetomicelles", cross-linked, amphiphilic block-copolymer micelles that encapsulate superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. Because these composite nanostructures assemble spontaneously from solution by simultaneous desolvation of nanoparticle and amphiphilic poly(styrene(250)-block-acrylic acid(13)) components, explicit surface functionalization of the particles is not required, and the encapsulation method was

We demonstrate a simple, one-step synthesis of hybrid gold nanoparticle–graphene oxide nanosheets (Au–GO) through electrostatic self-assembly. This method affords a facile means of controlling the effective concentration of the active Au nanoparticles on the graphene sheets, but also offers the necessary stability of the resulting Au–GO nanostructure for catalytic transformation. Furthermore, this hybrid Au–GO is successfully employed in the catalytic reduction of a series of nitroarenes with hi

Photosensitizers (PSs) are light‐sensitive molecules that are highly hydrophobic, which poses a challenge to their use for targeted photodynamic therapy. Hence, considerable efforts have been made to develop carriers for the delivery of PSs. Herein, a novel design is described of highly biocompatible, fluorescent, folic acid (FA)‐functionalized carbon nanodots (CDs) as carriers for the PS zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) to achieve simultaneous biological imaging and targeted photodynamic therapy. FA

Ionic liquid (IL) modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO–IL) nanosheets anchoring manganese oxide (Mn3O4) are synthesized via a facile solution-based growth mechanism and applied to a Zn–air battery as an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this study, the IL moiety in these composites increases not only the conductivity of the system, but also the electrocatalytic activity compared to pristine rGO, together with the synergic effect of facilitating the ORR with th

A hybrid electrode consisting of an electric double-layer capacitor of graphene nanosheets and a pseudocapacitor of the conducting polymer polyaniline exhibits a synergistic effect with excellent electrochemical performance for flexible thin film supercapacitors. This hybrid supercapacitor is constructed by a nanoscale blending method of layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly based on the electrostatic interactions between positively charged polyaniline (PANi) and negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) n

Water electrocatalytic splitting is considered as an ideal process for generating H₂ without byproducts. However, in the water-splitting reaction, a high overpotential is needed to overcome the high-energy barrier due to the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, we selected the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) oxidation reaction, which is thermodynamically favored, to replace the OER in the water-splitting process. We fabricated three-dimensional hybrid ele

Smart fabrics and interactive textiles have attracted great interest as a newly emergent material because of their multifunctional capabilities. Herein, a highly robust wireless flexible strain sensor on the basis of commercial textile by the integration of functional hybrid carbon nanomaterials and piezoresistive material is fabricated. Specifically, a solution‐processable spray‐assisted coating approach that enables the creation of a uniform coating over a large area of fabrics is employed. Th

The development of cost-effective and environmentally friendly photocatalysts and photosensitizers has received tremendous attention because of their potential utilization in solar-light-harvesting applications. In this respect, carbon dots (CDs) prepared by bottom-up methods have been considered to be promising light-harvesting materials. Through their preparation from various molecular precursors and synthetic methods, CDs exhibit excellent optical and charge-transfer properties. Furthermore,

As an emerging concept for the development of new materials with nanoscale features, nanoarchitectonics has received significant recent attention. Among the various approaches that have been developed in this area, the fixed-direction construction of functional materials, such as layered fabrication, offers a helpful starting point to demonstrate the huge potential of nanoarchitectonics. In particular, the combination of nanoarchitectonics with layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and a large degree of

We report the design of a platform for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs conjugated to block copolymer micelles via pH-responsive linkage that are assembled within hydrogen-bonded polymer multilayer thin films.

We report a facile green approach to the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on the surface of graphene oxide nanosheets functionalized with mussel-inspired dopamine (GO-Dopa) without additional reductants or stabilizers at room temperature. The resulting hybrid Ag/GO-Dopa exhibits good dispersity and excellent catalytic activity in the reduction of nitroarenes.

We describe a simple and versatile protocol to prepare water-soluble multifunctional nanostructures by encapsulation of different nanoparticles in shell cross-linked, block copolymer micelles. This method permits simultaneous incorporation of different nanoparticle properties within a nanoscale micellar container. We have demonstrated the co-encapsulation of magnetic (gamma-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4), semiconductor (CdSe/ZnS), and metal (Au) nanoparticles in different combinations to form multicomponent m

Star polymers with globular architecture and multiple arms are among the simplest forms of polymers with branched topologies. The combination of their unique architecture and high local densities of active functional groups makes star polymers unique candidates for a diverse range of applications. In this article, we describe the synthesis of star polymers with precisely controlled structures via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using the one-pot arm-first method. Specifically, two ty