Cooling dynamics of self‐assembled monolayer coating for integrated gold nanocrystals on a glass substrate

Picosecond time‐resolved X‐ray diffraction has been used to study the nanoscale thermal transportation dynamics of bare gold nanocrystals and thiol‐based self‐assembled monolayer (SAM)‐coated integrated gold nanocrystals on a SiO₂ glass substrate. A temporal lattice expansion of 0.30–0.33% was observed in the bare and SAM‐coated nanocrystals on the glass substrate; the thermal energy inside the gold nanocrystals was transported to the contacted substrate through the gold–SiO₂ interface. The interfacial thermal conductivity between the single‐layered gold nanocrystal film and the SiO₂ substrate is estimated to be 45 MW m^?2 K^?1 from the decay of the Au 111 peak shift, which was linearly dependent on the transient temperature. For the SAM‐coated gold nanocrystals, the thermal dissipation was faster than that of the bare gold nanocrystal film. The thermal flow from the nanocrystals to the SAM‐coated molecules promotes heat dissipation from the laser‐heated SAM‐coated gold nanocrystals. The thermal transportation of the laser‐heated SAM‐coated gold nanocrystal film was analyzed using the bidirectional thermal dissipation model.     

Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles on Gold Nanorods Using Functionalized Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) as Polymeric “Glue”

A telechelic thermoresponsive polymer, α‐amino‐ω‐thiol‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (H₂N‐PNiPAM‐SH), is used as the polymeric glue to assemble gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) around gold nanorods (AuNRs) into a satellite structure. Prepared by reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization followed by hydrazinolysis, H₂N‐PNiPAM‐SH is able to interlink the two types of the gold building blocks with the thiol‐end grafting on AuNRs and the amine‐end coordinating on the AuNP surface. The density of the grafted AuNPs on AuNRs can be tuned by adjusting the molar ratio between AuNPs and AuNRs in the feed. The resulted satellite‐like assembly exhibits unique optical property that was responsive to temperature change.     

Gold‐Cluster‐Based Dual‐Emission Nanocomposite Film as Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensing Paper for Specific Metal Ion

A dual‐emission ratiometric fluorescent sensing film for metal ion detection is designed. This dual‐emission film is successfully prepared from chitosan, graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄), and gold nanoclusters (Au NCs). Here, it is shown that the g‐C₃N₄ not only serves as the fluorescence emission source, but also enhances the mechanical and thermal stability of the film. Meanwhile, the Au NCs are adsorbed on the surface of chitosan film by the electrostatic interaction. The as‐prepared dual‐emission film can selectively detect Cu²⁺, leading to the quench of red fluorescence of Au NCs, whereas the blue fluorescence from g‐C₃N₄ persists. The ratio of the two fluorescence intensities depends on the Cu²⁺ concentration and the fluorescence color changes from orange red to yellow, cyan, and finally to blue with increasing Cu²⁺ concentration. Thus, the as‐prepared dual‐emission film can be worked as ratiometric sensing paper for Cu²⁺ detection. Furthermore, the film shows high sensitivity and selectivity, with low limit of detection (LOD) (10 ppb). It is observed that this novel gold‐cluster‐based dual‐emission ratiometric fluorescent sensing paper is an easy and convenient way for detecting metal ions. It is believed that this research work have created another avenue for the detection of metal ions in the environment.     

Immobilization of galactose oxidase on self‐assembled monolayers of thiols on Au and Ag surfaces

Galactose oxidase (GalOD) was immobilized on self‐assembled monolayers of thiols on silver and gold surfaces using trans‐stilbene (4,4′‐diisothiocyanate)‐2,2′disulphonic acid (DIDS) as the bridging compound. DIDS is the symmetrical bifunctional reagent that reacted with the amine moiety of the thiol and with primary amino groups of enzyme. The Raman measurement revealed that onto cysteamine‐modified silver and gold electrodes, bands corresponding to the galactose oxidase (about 694, 1076, 1274 cm^—1 on Au and 762, 1058, 1274 cm^–1 on Ag ) appeared and clearly demonstrated its immobilization onto Au and Ag surfaces. Simultaneously, we have also observed changes in the ratio of trans–gauche conformers of adsorbed cysteamine molecules. Layers revealing high content of trans conformer are transformed into layers composed mainly of cysteamine molecule in gauche conformation after galactose oxidase adsorption. These observations deliver a strong support for enzyme immobilization on cysteamine‐modified gold and silver surfaces. The surface plasmon resonance experiment gave a surface coverage of ~8.4 × 10⁷ g/cm² for gold electrode modified cysteamine using DIDS chemistry and 1.1 × 10⁷ g/cm² for the cysteamine only modified gold substrate and demonstrated that galactose oxidase layers immobilized with DIDS coupling reagent are quite stable and cannot be easily removed from the surface by treatment with a buffer solution. The surface plasmon resonance results indicated that in this method, a multilayer of galactose oxidase have been immobilized. Our new method of covalent attachment of enzymes seems to be quite promising as a new way of manufacturing biosensors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multifunctional Plasmonic Co‐Doped Fe2O3@polydopamine‐Au for Adsorption,Photocatalysis, and SERS‐based Sensing

A new type of multifunctional plasmonic nanoparticles, cobalt‐doped Fe₂O₃@polydopamine‐Au (Co‐Fe₂O₃@PDA‐Au), is fabricated via coating PDA through self‐polymerization onto Co‐Fe₂O₃ and further loading gold nanoparticles by in situ reduction onto the surface of PDA shell. Benefiting from the universal adhesive ability of PDA and negative zeta potetntial of the composite, the Co‐Fe₂O₃@PDA‐Au shows strong adsorptivity for cationic dyes. The presence of gold nanoparticle with the diameter of 15 nm in the Co‐Fe₂O₃@PDA‐Au system promotes surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity with an impressive detection limit of 1 × 10^?6 m . Thanks to the synergistic effect of the light harvesting of PDA, the surface plasmon resonance of Au, and the electron conductibility of PDA and Au, the Co‐Fe₂O₃@PDA‐Au exhibits an enhanced photocatalytic activity comparing with unmodified Co‐Fe₂O₃. All the above‐mentioned functions enable Co‐Fe₂O₃@PDA‐Au to be a multifunctional material system for various applications toward environmental pollutants.     

5‐Phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol/polyamide‐montmorillonite microbicides nanocomposites as drug delivery system

The preparation and structural characterization of polymeric microbicides consisting of 5‐phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol covalently bound to polyamide based on diethyl‐2,3‐dihydroxysuccinate and polyoxypropylenetriamine Jeffamine (T₄₀₃) are described. Two different mole ratios of 5‐phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol was reacted with chloroacetylated diethyl‐2,3‐dihydroxysuccinate followed by polycondensation with Jeffamine (T₄₀₃). The nanocomposites were prepared by modification of microbicide polyamides to yield polymers with phosphonium salt or amine hydrochloride salt followed by ion exchange process between the phosphonium salt or amine hydrochloride of the polyamides and the intermellar sodium cation of the clay mineral montmorillonite. The monomers were characterized by mass spectrum, proton nuclear magnetic resonance. The polymers showed good or moderate antimicrobial activities. Nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscope. The swelling behavior and release of 5‐phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol in different pH values (2.3, 5.8, and 7.4) were studied. A slow release, ranging from 12% to 28% after 50 hours was recorded from nanocomposites. However, the release profile reached almost 70% from polyamides. The antimicrobial activity of the polyamides was studied against gram‐negative bacteria, gram‐positive bacteria, yeast, and the filamentous fungi by well diffusion method. The polyamides showed better antimicrobial activities than 5‐phenyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thiol.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on the adsorption behavior of thiophenol on gold nanoparticles

FT‐Raman spectra were obtained for thiophenol (TP) and TP on gold nanoparticles. All vibrational fundamentals for the TP molecule are assigned on the basis of the scaled quantum force field procedure. Three model systems are studied and compared for the interactions of TP with the Au atom: (1) TP with a Au atom, C₆H₅SH Au; (2) TP anion with a Au atom, C₆H₅S⁻ Au; and (3) TP with a Au atom and subsequent formation of thiophenylate, C₆H₅SAu. The equilibrium structures and Raman spectra were calculated for the model systems using density functional theory (DFT) with the B3LYP functionals and the mixed basis set 6‐311 + G** (for C, S, H) and LANL2DZ (for Au), and theoretical Raman wavenumbers of C₆H₅SAu and C₆H₅S⁻ Au were assigned according to potential energy distributions. The third model system is shown to be preferred over the other two. The calculated binding energies are also shown to support the third model system. It is suggested that a simple model, such as the one used in the present study, is reasonable to describe surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy of thiophenol adsorbed on gold nanoparticles. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adhesion of chemically and electrostatically bound gold nanoparticles to a self-assembled silane monolayer investigated by atomic force volume spectroscopy

The adhesion of gold nanoparticles either electrostatically or chemically attached to a substrate has been probed using AFM operating in force spectroscopy mode. A monolayer of –NH₂ terminated 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane or –SH terminated 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane was self-assembled onto a p-type silicon (100) substrate. Each silane monolayer provided the point of attachment for citrate stabilised gold colloid nanoparticles. In the case of the –NH₂ terminated layer gold colloid assembly was driven by the electrostatic attraction between the negative, citrate-capped, gold nanoparticles and a partially protonated amine layer. In the case of the –SH terminated regions, well-known gold–thiol chemistry was used to chemically attach the nanoparticles. An atomic force microscope tip was chemically modified with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane and scanned across each surface, where the cantilever deflection was measured at each x, y pixel of the image to create an array of adhesion force curves. This has allowed an unprecedented nanoscale characterisation of the adhesion force central to two common surface attachment methods of gold colloid nanoparticles, providing useful insights into the stability of nanoscale constructs.     

Single‐molecule surface‐enhanced Raman scattering of fullerene C60

We achieved single‐molecule surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SM‐SERS) spectra from ultralow concentrations (10⁻¹⁵ M) of fullerene C₆₀ on uniformly assembled Au nanoparticles. It was found that resonant excitation at 785 nm is a powerful tool to probe SM‐SERS in this system. The appearance of additional bands and splitting of some vibrational modes were observed because of the symmetry reduction of the adsorbed molecule and a relaxation in the surface selection rules. Time‐evolved spectral fluctuation and ‘hot spot’ dependence in the SM‐SERS spectra were demonstrated to result from the single‐molecule Raman behavior of the spherical C₆₀ on Au nanoparticles. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organic‐inorganic hybrids based on phenanthrene‐functionalized gold nanoparticles for OLEDs

The electroluminescence intensity of the phenanthrene‐functionalized gold nanoparticles, PMPT‐Au nanoparticles/CPB: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) film, was increased by 4.9 times compared with control device, CPB: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) due to coupling between the excitons of emissive layer and localized surface plasmonic resonance of PMPT‐Au NPs. The maximum luminous efficiencies of devices II to IV with PMPT‐Au NPs were 39.2 cd A^?1 (11.8 V), 40.1 cd A^?1 (10.5 V), and 43.1 cd A^?1 (9.0 V), respectively. The increment of current efficiency with PMPT‐Au NP coated devices was strongly related to the energy transfer between the radiated light generated from CBP: Ir(PIA)₂ (acac) emissive layer and localized surface plasmonic resonance excited by PMPT‐Au NP layer.     

Thermal and photochemical reactivity of oxygen atoms on gold nanocluster surfaces

Reduction of oxidized gold nanoclusters by exposures to foreign gases and irradiation of UV photons has been investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Gold nanoclusters with narrow size distributions protected by alkanethiolate ligands were deposited on a TiO₂(1 1 0) surface with dip coating. Oxygen plasma etching was used for removal of alkanethiolate ligands and oxidization of gold clusters. The oxidized gold clusters were exposed to CO, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, H₂, and hydrogen atoms. Although, C₂H₄ and H₂ did not show any indications of reduction of oxidized gold clusters, CO, C₂H₂, and hydrogen atoms reduced the oxides on gold cluster surfaces. Among them, hydrogen atoms were most effective for reduction. Irradiation of UV photons around 400 nm could also reduce the oxidized gold clusters. The photochemical reduction mechanism was proposed as follows. The photo-reduction was initiated by electronic excitation of gold clusters and oxygen atoms activated reacted with carbon atoms at the surfaces of gold clusters. Carbon species were likely absorbed in gold clusters or remained at the boundaries between gold clusters when gold clusters agglomerated during oxygen plasma exposures. As the photochemical reduction progressed, carbon atoms segregated to the surfaces of gold clusters.     

Designing Zwitterionic SiO2NH2‐Au Particles with Tunable Patchiness using Wrinkles

A facile template‐based approach toward zwitterionic SiO₂NH₂‐Au patchy particles is presented. Therefore, wrinkle templates prepared by stress release in a bilayer system comprised of an elastic PDMS fundament and a thin SiO_x top layer are used. After aligning positively charged, amine‐functionalized silica particles in wrinkle grooves, their surfaces are partially modified with negatively charged gold nanoparticles in an electrostatic adsorption step. Patchiness is precisely controlled by the degree of immersion of the initial particles into wrinkles of varying dimensions. By ultrasonication or wetting with a water droplet, patchy particles are easily released from the substrate‐yielding particles with two oppositely charged hemispheres. Interfacial tension measurements prove the surface activity of the SiO₂NH₂‐Au particles in an oil/water system and are explained in the view of the Janus‐type surface charges of the particles and the charge of the oil/water interface.     

Chirality, defects, and disorder in gold clusters

Theoretical and experimental information on the shape and morphology of bare and passivated gold clusters is fundamental to predict and understand their electronic, optical, and other physical and chemical properties. An effective theoretical approach to determine the lowest-energy configuration (global minimum) and the structures of low energy isomers (local minima) of clusters is to combine genetic algorithms and many-body potentials (to perform global structural optimizations), and first-principles density functional theory (to confirm the stability and energy ordering of the local minima). The main trend emerging from structural optimizations of bare Au clusters in the size range of 12-212 atoms indicates that many topologically interesting low-symmetry, disordered structures exist with energy near or below the lowest-energy ordered isomer. For example, chiral structures have been obtained as the lowest-energy isomers of bare Au₂₈ and Au₅₅ clusters, whereas in the size-range of 75-212 atoms, defective Marks decahedral structures are nearly degenerate in energy with the ordered symmetrical isomers. For methylthiol-passivated gold nanoclusters [Au₂₈(SCH₃)₁₆ and Au₃₈(SCH₃)₂₄], density functional structural relaxations have shown that the ligands are not only playing the role of passivating molecules, but their effect is strong enough to distort the metal cluster structure. In this work, a theoretical approach to characterize and quantify chirality in clusters, based on the Hausdorff chirality measure, is described. After calculating the index of chirality in bare and passivated gold clusters, it is found that the thiol monolayer induces or increases the degree of chirality of the metallic core. We also report simulated high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images which show that defects in decahedral gold nanoclusters, with size between 1-2 nm, can be detected using currently available experimental HRTEM techniques.     

Remote substituent effects on gas‐phase homolytic Fe–O and Fe–S bond energies of p‐G‐C6H4OFe(CO)2(η5‐C5H5) and p‐G‐C6H4SFe(CO)2(η5‐C5H5) studied using Hartree–Fock and density functional theory methods

Metal–ligand bond enthalpy data can afford invaluable insights into important reaction patterns in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In this paper, the Fe–O and Fe–S homolytic bond dissociation energies [ΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s] of two series of para‐substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C₆H₄OFp ( 1 )] and (para‐substituted benzenethiolato)dicarbonyl(η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C₆H₄SFp ( 2 )] were studied using Hartree–Fock and density functional theory (DFT) methods with large basis sets. In this study, Fp is (η⁵‐C₅H₅)Fe(CO)₂, and G are NO₂, CN, COMe, CO₂Me, CF₃, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe₂. The results show that DFT methods can provide the best price/performance ratio and accurate predictions of ΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s. The remote substituent effects on ΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s [ΔΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s] can also be satisfactorily predicted. The good correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1), 0.98 (g, 2)] of ΔΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s in series 1 and 2 with the substituent σ_p⁺ constants imply that the para‐substituent effects on ΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s and ΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. ΔΔH_homo(Fe–O)'s ( 1 ) and ΔΔH_homo(Fe–S)'s ( 2 ) conform to the captodative principle. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of surface morphology on surface‐enhanced Raman scattering of 4‐aminobenzenethiol adsorbed on gold substrates

The substrate‐dependent surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of 4‐aminobenzenethiol (4‐ABT) adsorbed on Au surfaces has been investigated. 4‐ABT is one of the very unique adsorbate molecules whose SERS spectral patterns are known to be noticeably dependent on the relative contribution of chemical enhancement mechanism vs electromagnetic enhancement mechanism. The SERS spectral patterns of 4‐ABT adsorbed on gold substrates with various surface morphology have thus been analyzed in terms of the symmetry types of the vibrational modes. Almost invisibly weak b₂ type vibrational bands were observed in the SERS spectra of the 4‐ABT adsorbed on Au colloidal sol nanoparticles or commercially available Au micro‐powders because of the weak contribution of the chemical enhancement. However, greatly enhanced b₂ vibrational bands were observed in the spectra of the 4‐ABT molecules adsorbed on the synthesized Au(Zn) sponge or the electrochemically roughened Au(ORC) foil caused by the strong contribution of the chemical enhancement mechanism. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure and self-assembly of sequentially adsorbed coronene/octanethiol monolayers

Scanning tunneling microscopy is used to investigate the structure of sequentially adsorbed coronene/octanethiol monolayers on Au(111). In these experiments, coronene-covered gold surfaces are exposed to octanethiol vapor. The resulting mixed monolayers are covered by close-packed octanethiol domains with clusters of coronene located within octanethiol domain boundaries. For these systems, the positions of coronene on the surface are determined by the kinetics of octanethiol monolayer formation and the local structure of the gold. The initial coverage and order of the coronene-covered surface influence the final structure of the mixed coronene/alkanethiol monolayer: deposition of coronene from the vapor phase, which creates a relatively lower coverage and higher degree of order than solution-based deposition, results in smaller coronene clusters. Statistical analysis of the locations of clusters of coronene shows that depending on the deposition parameters, coronene clusters are repelled in varying degree by upward-going and downward-going steps or are attracted to the top edges of surface step defects. In contrast to clusters, isolated coronene molecules are observed in the middle of close-packed octanethiol domains, but also appear to have an affinity for the edge of downward-going steps. We compare these results to mixed monolayers composed of C₇₀ and octanethiol.     

X‐ray absorption spectroscopic study on gold particles formed on titania and alumina

X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) measurements near the Au L₃ edge were made on Au(III) complex ions adsorbed on titania and alumina without a specific reducing agent. Compared with the XANES spectrum of a pure gold foil, the gold adsorbed on titania and alumina was found to be reduced to Au(0). The XANES method could obtain spectra of gold particles less than 1 nm in diameter, although a UV–visible absorption spectrum was difficult to observe with such samples. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trapping of V(benzene)2 sandwich clusters in a n-alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer matrix

V(benzene)₂ sandwich cluster cations produced in the gas phase were size-selectively deposited onto a self-assembled monolayer of n-hexadecanethiols (HDT-SAM) chemisorbed on a Au(111) surface as well as onto a bare Au(111) surface. The thermal chemistry of the neutralized clusters on each substrate was studied with temperature programmed desorption (TPD). From the analyses of the threshold in the TPD, the desorption activation energies of the clusters deposited were determined to be 64.4 ±12.8 kJ/mol for the Au(111) and 130 ±10 kJ/mol for the HDT-SAM. The remarkably large desorption activation energy from the SAM suggests that the deposited clusters are incorporated into the SAM matrix and firmly trapped inside the alkyl chains of the SAM.     

Oleylamine‐Assisted Phase‐Selective Synthesis of Cu2−xS Nanocrystals and the Mechanism of Phase Control

Environmentally friendly Cu_2?x S compounds exist in many different mixed phases in nature, while their nanoscale counterparts can be pure phase with interesting localized surface plasmon resonance properties. Because of the complexity of composition and phase, controllable synthesis of Cu_2?x S nanocrystals becomes an important scientific issue in colloidal chemistry. In this work, a hot‐injection method is developed to synthesize Cu_2?x S nanocrystals by injecting a sulfur precursor into a copper precursor using oleylamine and octadecene as solvents. By varying the reaction parameters (temperature, volume ratio of oleylamine/octadecene, molar ratio of Cu/S in the precursors), hexagonal CuS, monoclinic Cu_1.75S, and rhombohedral Cu_1.8S, nanocrystals can be selectively synthesized, providing a platform to illustrate the mechanism of crystal phase control. The crystal phase control of Cu_2?x S nanocrystals is oleylamine‐determined by controlling the molar ratio of Cu/S in the reaction precursors as well as the ratio of Cu_2?x S clusters/Cu⁺ in the subsequent reaction. More importantly, temperature plays an important role in varying the molar ratio of Cu/S and Cu_2?x S clusters/Cu⁺ in the reaction system, which significantly influences the crystal phase of the resulting Cu_2?x S nanocrystals. The understanding into crystal control provides a guideline to realize reproducible phase‐selective synthesis and obtain well‐defined high‐quality materials with precise control.     

Chemisorption of alkyl thiols and S-alkyl thiosulfates on Pt(1 1 1) and polycrystalline platinum surfaces

The self-assembled monolayers prepared from 1-dodecanethiol (C₁₂SH) or S-dodecylthiosulfate (Bunte salt, C₁₂SSO₃Na) have been characterised on polycrystalline gold and platinum surfaces and on Pt(1 1 1). Contact angle and impedance measurements show that the film quality decreases in the order Au/C₁₂SH > Pt/C₁₂SH ∼ Au/C₁₂SSO₃Na > Pt/C₁₂S SO₃Na. XPS measurements show that the S-SO₃ bond of organic thiosulfates is broken on platinum surfaces and the state of the surface-bound sulfur is indistinguishable from that of thiolate. On platinum three sulfur species are formed upon SAM formation and we suggest that the catalytic activity of platinum is responsible for their existence in pristine monolayers.