Selective Growth of Metal Tips onto Semiconductor Quantum Rods and Tetrapods

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 304; no. 5678; pp. 1787 - 1790
• Main Authors: Mokari, Taleb, Rothenberg, Eli, Popov, Inna, Costi, Ronny, Banin, Uri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 18.06.2004; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Amines; Chemical reactions; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Conductivity; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Crystal lattices; Exact sciences and technology; Gold; Materials; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanorods; Nanostructured materials; Nanostructures; Nanotechnology; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures; Optical properties of nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Properties; Self assembly; Semiconductors; Semiconductors (Materials); Thiols; Quantum wires; Gold; Inorganic compounds; Semiconductor materials; Transition element compounds; Photoluminescence; XRD; Nanostructures; Quantum yield; Cadmium selenides; Selective growth; Transmission electron microscopy; Growth mechanism
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1097830

We show the anisotropic selective growth of gold tips onto semiconductor (cadmium selenide) nanorods and tetrapods by a simple reaction. The size of the gold tips can be controlled by the concentration of the starting materials. The new nanostructures display modified optical properties caused by the strong coupling between the gold and semiconductor parts. The gold tips show increased conductivity as well as selective chemical affinity for forming self-assembled chains of rods. Such gold-tipped nanostructures provide natural contact points for self-assembly and for electrical devices and can solve the difficult problem of contacting colloidal nanorods and tetrapods to the external world.