The constant demand for functional nanomaterials from natural biomass polymers usually requires new “green” synthetic strategies without using any foreign additives. Here, the green fabrication of a series of polyphenol nanoparticles (PNs) only from green tea extraction compounds is reported (i.e., tea polyphenols and theophylline). It is found that the nanoparticle formation process involves covalent copolymerization of monomers, as well as noncovalent self‐assembly pathways. Additionally, the resulting PNs exhibit better free‐radical scavenging activities compared with similar‐sized, polydopamine‐based synthetic melanin nanoparticles. This class of biomass‐based functional nanoparticles is promising as green and effective antioxidant agents in general.

中文翻译：

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绿茶制造具有自由基清除活性的多酚纳米颗粒

天然生物质聚合物对功能纳米材料的不断需求通常需要采用新的“绿色”合成策略，而无需使用任何外来添加剂。在此，报道了仅由绿茶提取化合物（即茶多酚和茶碱）绿色制造一系列多酚纳米颗粒（PNs）的过程。发现纳米粒子的形成过程涉及单体的共价共聚，以及非共价的自组装途径。此外，与类似尺寸的基于聚多巴胺的合成黑色素纳米粒子相比，所得的PNs表现出更好的自由基清除活性。这类基于生物质的功能性纳米粒子总体上有望成为绿色和有效的抗氧化剂。