Wrapping individual chains of a viologen polymer with an ultrathin silicate sheath

A positively charged viologen polymer was wrapped with a layer of oligomeric sodium silicate as strong coulombic attractions facilitated the wrapping process. The wrapping was conducted at lower polymer concentrations and Gd³⁺ staining to check the wrapping of single polymer chains. High sensitivity energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements revealed that silicon, oxygen, and gadolinium atoms were contained within a single nanostrand. The validity of the structure proposed for the nanostrand was confirmed by means of molecular modeling calculations.