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An emulsion-directed assembly and adsorption approach has been used to fabricate composite films of polystyrene-b-poly(acryl acid)-b-polystyrene (PS-b-PAA-b-PS) and Eu 3+ and La 3+ ions at the planar liquid/liquid interface of the polymer DMF/chloroform (1:1, v/v) mixed solution (lower phase) and aqueous solutions of the corresponding salts (upper phase). The lower phase gradually transformed to a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion via spontaneous emulsification due to the “ouzo effect”. Polymer molecules and the metal ions assembled around emulsion droplets that adsorbed at the planar liquid/liquid interface at last, resulting in formation of composite films. The film morphologies and structures depend on Ln 3+ ions: polymer/Eu 3+ composite films were foam films composed of microcapsules ranging in size from several hundreds of nanometers to micrometers, while polymer/La 3+ composite films were composed of hollow spheres several tens of nanometers in size. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the coordination modes of carboxyl groups to Eu 3+ and La 3+ were bridging bidentate and ionic, respectively, in the two types of composites. These results indicate that stable microcapsules can be fabricated around droplets for polymer/Eu 3+ systems, while microcapsules of polymer/La 3+ are unstable. This leads to different film morphologies and structures. Compositions of these films were characterized using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, foam films of polymer/Eu 3+ /2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) were fabricated using this approach, and their photoluminescence properties were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Composite films with different structures were formed at the liquid/liquid interface. [•] These films are composed of diblock or triblock copolymers and inorganic species. [•] PS-b-P4VP/Au and PS-b-P4VP/Ag have honeycomb and foam structure, respectively. [•] P4VP-b-PS-b-P4VP/Au forms a free-standing film with a nanosphere array structure. [•] Co-adsorption and self-assembly of polymer and the ions lead to the film formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Composite films with honeycomb structure were formed at the liquid/liquid interface. [•] These films are composed of block copolymer PS-b-P2VP and Ag+ or ions. [•] Co-adsorption and self-assembly of polymer and the ions lead to the film formation. [•] Transformed metal nanoparticles exhibit high and durable catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]