A tri-block copolymer templated synthesis of gold nanostructures

Ester Falletta; Francesca Ridi; Emiliano Fratini; Chiara Vannucci; Patrizia Canton; Sabrina Bianchi; Valter Castelvetro; Piero Baglioni

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2010.12.074

A tri-block copolymer templated synthesis of gold nanostructures

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2011 May 1;357(1):88-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2010.12.074. Epub 2011 Jan 27.

Authors

Ester Falletta¹, Francesca Ridi, Emiliano Fratini, Chiara Vannucci, Patrizia Canton, Sabrina Bianchi, Valter Castelvetro, Piero Baglioni

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry and CSGI, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino-Florence 50019, Italy.

PMID: 21334634
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2010.12.074

Abstract

Stable ultra-small gold nanoparticles have been synthesized in aqueous phase by using a tri-block copolymer (BMB) as a templating agent consisting of two PEG-methylacrylate chains (B blocks) anchored to a poly(methacrylic) moiety containing a trithiocarbonate unit (M block). The effect of the BMB/Au molar ratios on the final particle size, shape and monodispersity has been investigated. The synthesized nanosols have been characterized by means of Visible Absorption, Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results clearly indicate that the polymer plays a key role in determining the size and shape of gold particles, from fractal-like structures to monodisperse spherical particles with a mean diameter of about 3 nm. The aggregation behavior of these nanostructures has been characterized both in solution (SAXS) as well as on mica substrate (AFM) and has been proven to be driven by the polymer to gold concentration ratio.