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Electrochemical synthesis of gold nanorods in track-etched polycarbonate membrane using removable mercury cathode

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Abstract

The electrochemical template synthesis of gold nanorods within the cylindrical pores of track-etched polycarbonate (PC) membrane using a removable mercury cathode is reported. The novelty of this new approach is that it eliminates the requirement of coating an approximately 500 nm–1 μm-thick metallic layer, as conducting substrate, onto one surface of the insulating template membrane by the sputter deposition technique. A two-compartment electrochemical cell was designed and used for this work. The PC membrane was placed between the two compartments separating the aqueous solution of HAuCl4 from mercury. Mercury, filled in one of the compartments, is in contact with one surface of the membrane (similar to sputter-deposited metallic layer) and serves as the conducting substrate/cathode for the electrochemical deposition of gold in the nanopores of track-etched PC membrane. Once the electrodeposition is completed, the mercury and the HAuCl4 solution are removed from the compartments, and a malleable track-etched PC membrane embedded with free-standing gold nanorods is obtained. The ensemble of the metal nanorods grown in the template membrane is not attached to any conducting substrate, and gold nanorods can be freed from the template membrane after the dissolution. The Au-deposited PC membrane and free-standing Au nanorods were characterized by EDXRF, XRD, UV–Visible spectroscopy, AFM, and FEG-TEM. The EDXRF and XRD studies confirmed the deposition of the face-centered cubic phase of Au in the pores of the PC membrane. The TEM studies showed the formation of a cigar-shaped gold nanorod in the cylindrical pores of the PC membrane. The diameter of gold nanorods ranges from 100 to 200 nm. The new approach is simple, cost-effective, and saves time.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Mr. B. T. Naidu Babu and Mr. L. S. Mombasawala for the FEG-TEM measurement in the Central Facility at SAIF, IIT Bombay. The authors also acknowledge the helpful discussions with Dr. A. K. Pandey, RCD, BARC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085, India

    Manoj K. Sharma, Arvind S. Ambolikar & Suresh K. Aggarwal

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  1. Manoj K. Sharma
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  2. Arvind S. Ambolikar
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  3. Suresh K. Aggarwal
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Correspondence to Manoj K. Sharma.

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Special Issue Editors: Mamadou Diallo, Neil Fromer, Myung S. Jhon

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Nanotechnology for Sustainable Development

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Sharma, M.K., Ambolikar, A.S. & Aggarwal, S.K. Electrochemical synthesis of gold nanorods in track-etched polycarbonate membrane using removable mercury cathode. J Nanopart Res 14, 1094 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1094-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1094-z

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