Recent advances in polymer directed crystal growth and mediated self-assembly of nanoparticles

The complex morphology and structures of biomaterials in biological systems have attracted chemists and material scientists to understand self-assembly mechanisms of their emergence. The growth of biomaterials is strongly influenced by soluble biopolymer, low mass organic molecules in solution, and insoluble tissue around crystals. Mimicking the nature, various polymers with different functionalities and their combinations of these functionalities have been designed or adopted in order to control the morphology and complexity of inorganic crystals. In addition, natural polymers or modified functional polymers with specific functional groups have also been used for such mimicking process. In this review, the latest development of synthetic/natural polymer directed crystal growth and mediated self-assembly of nanoparticles will be overviewed. Soluble polymers including biopolymers and synthetic polymers as soft templates have shown remarkable effects on the directed crystal growth and controlled self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles. The flexible combinations of these soluble polymers with other additives or reaction systems make it possible for access of various inorganic materials with complex form, taking advantages of the synergistic effects of polymer with other low mass organic molecules or reaction environments. In contrast. insoluble polymers with different functionalities can be used as hard templates or substrates to offer suitable crystallization sites for the guided crystallization and self-assembly processes. Recent advances have demonstrated that polymer directed crystal growth and mediated self-assembly of nanoparticles can provide promising ways for rational design of various ordered inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid materials with complexity and structural speciality.