Harmony of Metals and Polymers: Fabrication of Nanocomposites and their Applications

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Metals and polymers have distinct characteristics and properties. However, a harmonious combination of the two in the form of nanocomposites, can form versatile materials which not only combine the unique characteristics of the components, but also manifest mutualistic effects. Embedding inside polymer thin films facilitates immobilization and organization of the metal nanoparticles and tuning of their responses by the dielectric environment. The embedded metal nanoparticles in turn can impact upon the various materials attributes of the polymer matrix. We will highlight the fascination of metal nanostructures and present an overview of the various routes developed for the fabrication of metal nanoparticle-embedded polymer thin films, primarily involving in situ generation techniques. An environment-friendly protocol for the fabrication of noble metal nanostructures inside polymer thin films, using aqueous medium for the synthesis and deploying the polymer itself as the reducing as well as stabilizing agent, will be described. Various techniques that have been exploited to characterize the precursor-to-product transformation inside the polymer film will be discussed. The unique control provided by the in situ fabrication route on the size, shape and distribution of the nanostructures, and application of the nanocomposite thin films in a wide range of areas including nonlinear optics, random lasers, catalysis and biology, illustrate the versatility of these materials.