High thermal stability of block copolymer-capped Au and Cu nanoparticlesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details and characterization of AuNP and CuNP. See DOI: 10.1039/c4cc04937c

Producing solution-based metal nanoparticles that do not agglomerate at elevated temperatures remains challenging. We show that thermally stable Au and Cu nanoparticles can be prepared using polystyrene-poly(4-vinylpyridine) diblock copolymers as capping agents. These materials remain stable when their solutions are subjected to prolonged heating up to 160 °C for more than 48 h. These conditions are sufficient for applications in most wet chemical processes and reactions. Pyridine-containing block copolymers (PS-P4VP) can effectively stabilize metal nanoparticles which survive prolonged heating in solutions at high temperatures.