The micellar state of Pluronic P123, which is a poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b- poly(ethylene oxide) block polymer (EO(20)PO(70)EO(20)), has been investigated using SANS, SAXS, and differential scanning calorimetry under the conditions utilized in the synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials, such as SBA-15. The absolute intensity measurements, both with SANS and SAXS, have provided a detailed quantitative description of the P123 micelles in the framework of a simple core-shell spherical model. The model developed has been used to establish the structure of the copolymer micelles, including their size, shape, aggregation number and detailed composition, as well as the structural changes induced by varying reaction conditions. The effects of temperature, pH, acidic source and the addition of swelling agents (toluene and TMB) are reported and discussed.

An efficient method to form 3D superlattices of gold nanoparticles inside oil emulsion droplets is presented. We demonstrate that this method relies on Ostwald ripening, a well-known phenomenon occurring during the aging of emulsions. The key point is that the nanoparticle concentration inside the smaller droplets is increasing very slowly with time, thus inducing the crystallization of the nanoparticles into superlattices. Using oil-in-water emulsions doped with hydrophobic gold nanoparticles, we demonstrate that this method is efficient for different types of oils (toluene, cyclohexane, dodecane, and hexadecane). 3D superlattices of the nanoparticles are obtained, with dimensions reaching a hundred nanometers. The kinetics of the crystallization depends on the solubility of the oil in water but also on the initial concentration of the gold nanoparticles in oil. This method also provides an innovative way to obtain the complete phase diagram of nanoparticle suspensions with concentration. Indeed, during this slow crystallization process, a transition from a disordered suspension to a fcc structure is observed, followed by a transition toward a bcc structure. This evolution with time provides key results to understand the role played by the ligands located at the surface of the nanoparticles in order to control the type of superlattices which are formed.