Asymmetrically Distributed Tween-80-Induced Edge-Preferential Polymerization of Benzoxazine toward Selective Fabrication of Donut-Shaped Polymer and Carbon Nanodiscs

Disc-like nanoparticles are desirable for fundamentalstudies ofself-assembly, liquid crystal phenomenon, and diffusion and rheologybehavior. However, the realization of such energetically less favorablenanostructures, especially via facile liquid-phase synthesis chemistry,remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a novel process to synthesizedonut-shaped polymer nanodiscs (DPNDs) with tunable thickness in aqueoussolution, based primarily on the phase transition of stearic acid(SA) and subsequent edge-preferential polymerization of benzoxazineinduced by Tween-80 (T-80). In this process, the spatial distributiondifference of T-80 on SA crystals between the edge and the centerplayed a crucial role in the shape evolution, specifically the edgeformation of DPNDs. More importantly, porous carbon with perfectlyinherited morphology could be obtained by a subsequent pyrolysis.In addition, micron-sized circular and rhombic polymer sheets andnanospheres have also been produced by simply modulating the molarratio of SA/T-80. This research provides a new perspective towardthe precise construction of 2D colloidal and porous carbon nanomaterialsby means of solution chemistry and, more importantly, adds great potentialfor corresponding modeling studies and personalized applications.