Unified Methodology for Fabrication and Quantification of Gold Nanorods, Gold Core Silver Shell Nanocuboids, and Their Polymer Nanocomposites (original) (raw)

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

Beilstein journal of nanotechnology, 2018

A fast route to transfer Au nanoparticles from aqueous to organic media is proposed based on the use of a high molecular mass diblock copolymer of styrene and 2-vinylpyridine for ligand exchange at the nanoparticle surface. The method enables the preparation of stable sols of Au nanorods with sizes of up to tens of nanometers or Au nanospheres in various organic solvents. By comparing the optical absorbance spectra of Au hydro- and organosols with the data of numerical simulations of the surface plasmon resonance, we find that nanoparticles do not aggregate and confirm the transmission electron microscopy data regarding their shape and size. The proposed approach can be effective in preparing hybrid composites without the use of strong thiol and amine surfactants.

Gold Nanorod Linking to Control Plasmonic Properties in Solution and Polymer Nanocomposites

Langmuir, 2014

A novel, solution-based method is presented to prepare bifunctional gold nanorods (B-NRs), assemble B-NRs end-to-end in various solvents, and disperse linked B-NRs in a polymer matrix. The B-NRs have poly(ethylene glycol) grafted along its long axis and cysteine adsorbed to its ends. By controlling cysteine coverage, bifunctional ligands or polymer can be end-grafted to the AuNRs. Here, two dithiol ligands (C6DT and C9DT) are used to link the B-NRs in organic solvents. With increasing incubation time, the nanorod chain length increases linearly as the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance shifts toward lower adsorption wavelengths (i.e., red shift). Analogous to step-growth polymerization, the polydispersity in chain length also increases. Upon adding poly(ethylene glycol) or poly(methyl methacrylate) to chloroform solution with linked B-NR, the nanorod chains are shown to retain end-to-end linking upon spin-casting into PEO or PMMA films. Using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), the mechanism of nanorod linking is investigated on planar gold surfaces. At submonolayer coverage of cysteine, C6DT molecules can insert between cysteines and reach an areal density of 3.4 molecules per nm 2 . To mimic the linking of Au NRs, this planar surface is exposed to cysteine-coated Au nanoparticles, which graft at 7 NPs per μm 2 . This solution-based method to prepare, assemble, and disperse Au nanorods is applicable to other nanorod systems (e.g., CdSe) and presents a new strategy to assemble anisotropic particles in organic solvents and polymer coatings.

Synthesis and plasmonic properties of silver and gold nanoshells on polystyrene cores of different size and of gold–silver core–shell nanostructures

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2006

Simple methods of preparing silver and gold nanoshells on the surfaces of monodispersed polystyrene microspheres of different sizes as well as of silver nanoshells on free-standing gold nanoparticles are presented. The plasmon resonance absorption spectra of these materials are presented and compared to predictions of extended Mie scattering theory. Both silver and gold nanoshells were grown on polystyrene microspheres with diameters ranging from 188 to 543 nm. The commercially available, initially carboxylate-terminated polystyrene spheres were reacted with 2aminoethanethiol hydrochloride (AET) to yield thiol-terminated microspheres to which gold nanoparticles were then attached. Reduction of silver nitrate or gold hydroxide onto these gold-decorated microspheres resulted in increasing coverage of silver or gold on the polystyrene core. The nanoshells were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-vis spectroscopy. By varying the core size of the polystyrene particles and the amount of metal (silver or gold) reduced onto them, the surface plasmon resonance of the nanoshell could be tuned across the visible and the near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Necklace-like chain aggregate structures of gold core-silver shell nanoparticles were formed by reducing silver nitrate onto free citrate-gold nanoparticles. The plasmon resonance absorption of these nanoparticles could also be systematically tuned across the visible spectrum.

Design of Polymeric Stabilizers for Size-Controlled Synthesis of Monodisperse Gold Nanoparticles in Water

Langmuir, 2007

A new methodology is described for the one-step aqueous preparation of highly monodisperse gold nanoparticles with diameters below 5 nm using thioether-and thiol-functionalized polymer ligands. The particle size and size distribution was controlled by subtle variation of the polymer structure. It was shown that poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) were the most effective stabilizing polymers in the group studied and that relatively low molar mass ligands (∼2500 g/mol) gave rise to the narrowest particle size distributions. Particle uniformity and colloidal stability to changes in ionic strength and pH were strongly affected by the hydrophobicity of the ligand end group. "Multidentate" thiol-terminated ligands were produced by employing dithiols and tetrathiols as chaintransfer agents, and these ligands gave rise to particles with unprecedented control over particle size and enhanced colloidal stability. It was found throughout that dynamic light scattering (DLS) is a very useful corroboratory technique for characterization of these gold nanoparticles in addition to optical spectroscopy and TEM.

Versatile Phase Transfer Method for the Efficient Surface Functionalization of Gold Nanoparticles: Towards Controlled Nanoparticle Dispersion in a Polymer Matrix

Journal of Nanomaterials, 2016

In electronic devices based on hybrid materials such as nonvolatile memory elements (NVMEs), it is essential to control precisely the dispersion of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in an insulating polymer matrix such as polystyrene in order to control the functionality of the device. In this work the incorporation of AuNPs in polystyrene films is controlled by tuning the surface functionalization of the metallic nanoparticles via ligand exchange. Two ligands with different structures were used for functionalization: 1-decanethiol and thiol-terminated polystyrene. This paper presents a versatile method for the modification of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with thiol-terminated polystyrene ligands via phase transfer process. An organic colloid of AuNPs (5±1 nm diameter) is obtained by the phase transfer process (from water to toluene) that allows exchanging the ligand adsorbed on AuNPs surface (hydrophilic citrate/tannic acid to hydrophobic thiols). The stability, size distribution, and pre...

Fabrication, stabilization, and optical properties of gold nanorods with silver shells

Nanotechnologies in Russia, 2009

We describe experimental results on the synthesis and optical properties of gold nanorods with sil ver coating. The nanoparticles were fabricated by the seed mediated growth of gold nanorods in a growth solution with ionic surfactant CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide); then the particles were separated in the density gradient of glycerol and the silver ions were reduced by ascorbic acid in the presence of polyvi nylpirrolidone at alkalic conditions. The formation of a silver nanoshell was controlled by the shift of plasmon resonances (PR) of extinction and differential light scattering, by the appearance of characteristic Ag peaks in the EDX spectra of samples, by TEM data, and by visually inspecting changes in colloid colors. Theoretical calculations with a two layered spheroid model are in agreement with spectral measurements. To evaluate the silver nanoshell thickness, we calculate a calibration curve for the relative PR shift. It is noted that the tech nology described gives particles that are instable in water environment, leading to notable drift of PRs and optical spectra in whole. We have found that the optical properties of gold-silver nanorods can be stabilized by transferring in ethanol or by the addition of polyacrilic acid. The basic advantage of the described protocol is the fine controlled tuning of the extinction and light scattering PRs of two layered nanorods from NIR to 550 nm with an accuracy of about 10 nm. Such particles may find promising applications in biophotonics, bioimaging of cellular structures, contrasting OCT tissue images, etc.

Surface Plasmon Spectroscopy of Gold−Poly-N-isopropylacrylamide Core−Shell Particles

Langmuir, 2011

Highly uniform, core-shell microgels consisting of single gold nanoparticle cores and cross-linked poly-Nisopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) shells were prepared by a novel, versatile protocol. The synthetic pathway allows control over the polymer shell thickness and its swelling behavior. The core-shell structure was investigated by electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, whereas the swelling behavior of the shell was studied by means of dynamic light scattering and UV-vis spectroscopy. Furthermore, the latter method was used to investigate the optical properties of the hybrid particles. By modeling the scattering contribution from the PNIPAM shells, the absorption spectra of the gold nanoparticle cores could be recovered. This allows the particle concentration to be determined, and this in turn permits the calculation of the molar mass of the hybrid particles as well as the refractive index of the shells.

Synthesis and self-assembly of core-shell gold nanorod-PNIPAM nanoparticles

2016

An essential requirement for the use of nanoparticles in self assembly applications is ensuring their colloidal stability is maintained, as well as being able to tailor their properties for enhanced functionality. One way of doing so is through the incorporation of nanoparticles in responsive microgels, leading to the formation of inorganic/organic hybrid nanocomposites. The aim of this research was to develop a generic protocol for the preparation of hybrid core-shell microgels composed of nanoparticle cores and responsive polymer shells. Specifically, core-shell gold nanorod poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) particles with high yield and monodispersity were synthesised. Due to the high sensitivity of the longitudinal plasmon band to its local environment, the change in refractive index caused by the temperature-induced collapse of the PNIPAM shell led to a red-shift on the order of tens of nanometres in the plasmon band. This shift was reversible for multiple heating/cooling cyc...