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Seed-mediated growth and manipulation of Au nanorods via size-controlled synthesis of Au seeds

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Abstract

Seed-mediated growth of gold (Au) nanorods with highly controllable length, width, and aspect ratio was accomplished via carefully size-controlled synthesis of the original Au seeds. A slow dynamic growth of Au nanoparticle seeds was observed after reduction of the Au salt (i.e., hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III) hydrate) by sodium borohydride (NaBH4) in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). As such, the size of the Au nanoparticle seeds can therefore be manipulated through control over the duration of the reaction period (i.e., aging times of 2, 8, 48, 72, and 144 h were used in this study). These differently sized Au nanoparticles were subsequently used as seeds for the growth of Au nanorods, where the additions of Au salt, CTAB, AgNO3, and ascorbic acid were employed. Smaller Au nanoparticle seeds obtained via short growth/aging time resulted in Au nanorods with higher aspect ratio and thus longer longitudinal surface plasmon wavelength (LSPW). The larger Au nanoparticle seeds obtained via longer growth/aging time resulted in Au nanorods with lower aspect ratio and shorter LSPW.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the helpful assistance of Dr. Michael E. Miller with the TEM imaging. The authors would also like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Green Chemistry Institute—ACS Petroleum Research Fund, the United States Department of Energy, and the United States Department of Agriculture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Juncheng Liu, Jennifer N. Duggan, Joshua Morgan & Christopher B. Roberts

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  1. Juncheng Liu
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  2. Jennifer N. Duggan
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  3. Joshua Morgan
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  4. Christopher B. Roberts
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Correspondence to Christopher B. Roberts.

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Liu, J., Duggan, J.N., Morgan, J. et al. Seed-mediated growth and manipulation of Au nanorods via size-controlled synthesis of Au seeds. J Nanopart Res 14, 1289 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-012-1289-3

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