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Seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods: control of the aspect ratio by variation of the reducing agent

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Abstract

Seed-mediated growth methods involving reduction of tetrachloroaurate(III) with ascorbic acid are common for the synthesis of gold nanorods. This study shows, however, that simply by appropriate choice of the reducing agent a drastic influence on the aspect ratio can be attained. Weaker reducing agents, such as dihydroxybenzene isomers (hydroquinone, catechol or resorcinol) or glucose can increase the aspect ratio of the nanorods by an order of magnitude, up to values as high as 100 (nanowires). The increase in aspect ratio is mainly a consequence of an increase in length of the particles (up to 1–3 μm). This effect is probably associated with a decrease in the reduction rate of gold(III) species by dihydroxybenzenes or glucose compared to ascorbic acid. The reduction potential of the reducing agents strongly depends on the pH value, and related effects on the dimensions of the nanoparticles are also reflected in this study. The nanorods exhibited penta-twinned nature without noteworthy defects (e.g. stacking faults and dislocations).

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Acknowledgments

We cordially thank Stephan Frank (MATLAB routine for size evaluation) and Martin Süess (HRTEM) for technical assistance, Irene Bräunlich for fruitful discussions, the electron microscopy center (EMEZ) of ETH Zurich for support and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for financial support under Project no. 200021-113463.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    Susanne Koeppl, Nico Ghielmetti & Ralph Spolenak

  2. Polymer Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    Walter Caseri

Authors
  1. Susanne Koeppl
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  2. Nico Ghielmetti
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  3. Walter Caseri
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  4. Ralph Spolenak
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Correspondence to Walter Caseri.

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Koeppl, S., Ghielmetti, N., Caseri, W. et al. Seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods: control of the aspect ratio by variation of the reducing agent. J Nanopart Res 15, 1471 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-013-1471-2

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