We synthesize and explore polymer-grafted colloids and supercolloids.

Lauren Ball; Yingying Cai; Yue Dong; Sophie Jancke; Olga Kuharenko; Christian Roßner; Marina Sebastian

The interaction of nanoparticles with the environment is determined by their surface properties, and, therefore, chemical surface adaption is of utmost importance. Functionalization with synthetic polymer ligands in particular opens up vast possibilities to control the properties of inorganic nanoparticles and/or to endow them with additional functionalities. Within this context, we contribute to exploring the potential of polymer/inorganic nanohybrids for catalytic and sensing applications. Our research is driven by tailored macromolecular synthesis as well as in-depth nanomaterial characterization, which together lead to a better understanding of underlying structure-effect relationships. This provides the basis for the rational design of novel nanosensors and nanocatalysts.

• Liebig fellowship (Fonds der Chemischen Industrie)
• Tailored Hybrid Nanomaterials for Plasmon-Mediated Photocatalysis (DFG)
• Structurally Anisotropic Functional Nanocomposite Thin Films from Cellulose Nanocrystals and Gold Nanoparticles (DFG)
• Toward Point-of-Action Diagnostics: Consistent Colorimetric Biosensing with Plasmonic Nanoparticles (Exploration Grant - Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation)
• "Cluster tox" case study (Leibniz Research Alliance "Advanced Materials Safety") 

• Jancke, S.; Rossner, C.: "Functionalization with polymer ligands enhances the catalytic activity of surfactant-stabilized gold nanoparticles." Nanoscale 2025. DOI: 10.1039/d5nr00910c.
• Rossner, C.: "Polymer-Grafted Gold Colloids and Supracolloids: From Mechanisms of Formation to Dynamic Soft Matter." Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2025, 46, 2400851. DOI: 10.1002/marc.202400851.
• Vazirieh Lenjani, S.; Li, C.-W..; Seckin, S.; König, T. A. F..; Merlitz, H.; Sommer, J.-U.; Rossner, C.: "Kinetically Controlled Site-Specific Self-assembly of Hairy Colloids." Langmuir 2024, 40 (5), 2487. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02207. (Journal Cover Article.)
• Jancke, S.; Liu, C.; Wang, R.; Sarkar, S.; Besford, Q. A.; König, T. A. F.; Popp, J.; Cialla-May, D.; Rossner, C.: "Turning on hotspots: Supracolloidal SERS probes made brilliant by an external activation mechanism." Nanoscale 2023, 15 (46), 18687. DOI: 10.1039/d3nr05121h.
• Vazirieh Lenjani, S.; Mayer, M.; Wang, R.; Dong, Y.; Fery, A.; Sommer, J.-U.; Rossner, C.: "Importance of Electrostatic Forces in Supracolloidal Self-Assembly of Polymer-Functionalized Gold Nanorods." J. Phys. Chem. C 2022, 126 (32), 14017. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c04930.