Ag nanoparticle/polymer composite barcode nanorods

We demonstrate a facile method combining colloidal lithography, selective ion-exchange, and the in situ reduction of Ag ions (Ag⁺) for the fabrication of multi-segmented barcode nanorods. First, polymer multilayer films were prepared by spin-coating alternating thin films of polystyrene and polyacrylic acid (PAA), and then multi-segmented polymer nanorods were fabricated via reactive ion etching with colloidal masks. Second, Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were incorporated into the PAA segments by an ion exchange and the in situ reduction of the Ag⁺. The selective incorporation of the Ag NPs permitted the modification of the specific bars of the nanorods. Lastly, the Ag NP/polymer composite nanorods were released from the substrate to form suspensions for further coding applications. By increasing the number of segments and changing the length of each segment in the nanorods, the coding capacity of nanorods was improved. More importantly, this method can easily realize the density tuning of Ag NPs in different segments of a single nanorod by varying the composition of the PAA segments. We believe that numerous other coded materials can also be obtained, which introduces new approaches for fabricating barcoded nanomaterials.