Simultaneous Adjustment of Size and Helical Sense of Chiral Nanospheres and Nanotubes Derived from an Axially Racemic Poly(phenylacetylene).

Nanospheres and nanotubes with full control of their size and helical sense are obtained in chloroform from the axially racemic chiral poly(phenylacetylene) poly-(R)-1 using either Ag+ as both chiral inducer and cross-linking agent or Na+ as chiral inducer and Ag+ as cross-linking agent. The size is tuned by the polymer/ion ratio while the helical sense is modulated by the polymer/cosolvent (i.e., MeCN) ratio. In this way, the helicity and the size of the nanoparticles can be easily interconverted by very simple experimental changes.