A multifunctional statistical copolymer vesicle for water remediation

Multifunctional statistical copolymers can be simply synthesized in one step without tedious and time-consuming procedures. In addition, the fuzzy boundary between different functional groups in the statistical copolymers can facilitate the fabrication of new functional nanomaterials. Herein, we designed a novel multifunctional vesicle based on a statistical copolymer, poly[[2-hydroxy-3-(naphthalen-1-ylamino)propyl methacrylate]-stat-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]] [P(HNA21-stat-DEA35)] which can be synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization in one step. The HNA moiety is designed for capturing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by π–π stacking, while the DEA moiety is engineered to immobilize gold nanoparticles for facilitating the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in aqueous solution. This vesicle showed excellent ability in water remediation by absorbing PAHs and accelerating the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Overall, this multifunctional statistical copolymer vesicle provides a new insight for designing multifunctional water remediation materials.