Au(I)–thiolate nanostructures fabricated by chemical exfoliation and their transformation to gold nanoparticle assemblies

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science Vol. 434; pp. 104 - 112
• Main Authors: Nie, Hui, Li, Minjie, Hao, Yajiao, Wang, Xudong, Gao, Sheng, Yang, Bingjie, Gu, Mengdi, Sun, Linlin, Zhang, Sean Xiao-An
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.11.2014
• Subjects: Au(I)–thiolate coordination polymer; Chemical exfoliation; Gold nanoparticle assemblies; Nanosheet; Nanostring; Thermal decomposition; Gold nanoparticle assemblies; Nanosheet; Thermal decomposition; Nanostring; Au(I)–thiolate coordination polymer; Chemical exfoliation
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.08.003

[Display omitted] •Chemical exfoliation was exploited to prepare Au(I)–MPA nanostructures.•Au(I)–MPA nanosheets with tunable thickness and size, and nanostrings were achieved.•Assemblies featuring Au(0) nanoparticles interlinked by Au(I) were obtained. Chemical exfoliation method was applied to transform bulky assemblies of Au(I)–3-mercaptopropionate (MPA) coordination polymer (CP) to nanosheets and nanostrings using sodium citrate as an exfoliator. The exfoliation process and the structural characteristics of the Au(I)–MPA nanosheets and nanostrings were fully investigated by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and so on. As the structural rigidity and stability of the obtained Au(I)–MPA nanosheets, they are ideal precursors for fabrication of water soluble gold nanoparticle assemblies through progressive pyrolysis. This work provides a significant strategy toward the morphology regulation of CP nanostructures and will inspire further development of this research area.