Abstract
Two-dimensional (2D) gold nanoparticles can possess novel physical and chemical properties, which will greatly expand the utility of gold nanoparticles in a wide variety of applications ranging from catalysis to biomedicine. However, colloidal synthesis of such particles generally requires sophisticated synthetic techniques to carefully guide anisotropic growth. Here we report that 2D hyper-branched gold nanoparticles in the lateral size range of about 50 ~ 120 nm can be synthesized selectively on a 2D immiscible oil/water interface in a few minutes at room temperature without structure-directing agents. An oleic acid/water interface can provide diffusion-controlled growth conditions, leading to the structural evolution of a smaller gold nucleus to 2D nanodendrimer and nanourchin at the interface. Simulations based on the phase field crystal model match well with experimental observations on the 2D branching of the nucleus, which occurs at the early stage of growth. Branching results in higher surface area and stronger near-field enhancement of 2D gold nanoparticles. This interfacial synthesis can be scaled up by creating an emulsion and the recovery of oleic acid is also achievable by centrifugation.
Highlights
Two-dimensional (2D) gold nanoparticles can possess novel physical and chemical properties, which will greatly expand the utility of gold nanoparticles in a wide variety of applications ranging from catalysis to biomedicine
Schematic illustrations and an experimental demonstration for our liquid/liquid interfacial synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) gold nanoparticles are presented in Fig. 1 and Supplementary Movie 1, respectively
In conclusion, we have demonstrated interfacial synthesis that lead to the fast formation of two-dimensional gold nanoparticles at room temperature without structure-directing agents
Summary
Two-dimensional (2D) gold nanoparticles can possess novel physical and chemical properties, which will greatly expand the utility of gold nanoparticles in a wide variety of applications ranging from catalysis to biomedicine. We report that 2D hyper-branched gold nanoparticles in the lateral size range of about 50 , 120 nm can be synthesized selectively on a 2D immiscible oil/water interface in a few minutes at room temperature without structure-directing agents. Branching results in higher surface area and stronger near-field enhancement of 2D gold nanoparticles This interfacial synthesis can be scaled up by creating an emulsion and the recovery of oleic acid is achievable by centrifugation. Here we demonstrate that two-dimensional immiscible oil/water interfaces can provide diffusion-controlled growth conditions, leading to the fast formation of 2D hyper-branched gold nanoparticles at room temperature without structure-directing agents. The size can be as small as ca. 50 nm, which is well suited for in vivo applications
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call