Structural plasticity and its control at the nanoscale are a vivid area of material science. In this contribution, we report a conceptually simple and versatile strategy for the formation of reconfigurable nanoparticle arrangements. The key role in our approach is played by star block copolymers from controlled radical RAFT polymerization, which fulfill the dual task of guiding the particle arrangement and also of equipping the nanomaterials with stimulus-responsiveness. By virtue of their block structure, the star polymers provide at the same time colloidal stability and responsive properties. Structural switching in response to the applied stimulus was investigated by means of small-angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering. The developed approach is general, easy to implement, and may provide new prospects for the development of colloidal actuators, nanoscale materials with switchable properties, and nanoscale machines.

中文翻译：

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响应响应的胶体致动器的行星-卫星纳米结构：行星-卫星距离的可逆收缩和膨胀

结构可塑性及其在纳米尺度上的控制是材料科学的一个生动领域。在此贡献中，我们报告了可重构纳米粒子排列形成的概念上简单且通用的策略。我们的方法中的关键作用是受控自由基RAFT聚合中的星形嵌段共聚物，它既完成了指导粒子排列，又使纳米材料具有刺激响应能力的双重任务。由于其嵌段结构，星形聚合物同时提供胶体稳定性和响应性。通过小角度X射线散射和动态光散射研究了响应所施加的刺激的结构转换。开发的方法通用，易于实施，