Direct control of the spatial arrangement of gold nanoparticles in organic-inorganic hybrid superstructures

Linear Tetraphenylmethane-Based Thioether Oligomers Stabilising an Entire Gold Nanoparticle by Enwrapping

The design and synthesis of a novel linear thioether-based ligand subunit with a tetraphenylmethane core used in the stabilisation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are presented. Mono-, tri, penta- and heptamers of the ligand have been synthesised and used to stabilise AuNPs by enwrapping. With the exception of the monomer, all ligands provide reliable long-term stability and redispersibility for the coated nanoparticles in common organic solvents. Despite variation of the oligomer length, all stable particles were of the same size within error tolerance (1.16±0.32 nm for the trimer, 1.15±0.30 nm for the pentamer, 1.17±0.34 nm for the heptamer), as investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These findings suggest that not only the number of sulfur atoms in the ligand, but also its bulkiness play a crucial role in stabilising the AuNPs. These findings are supported by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), showing that AuNPs stabilised by the penta- or heptamer are passivated by a single ligand. Thermal stability measurements suggest a correlation between ligand coverage and thermal stability, further supporting these findings.

Preparing a pseudo-solid by the reinforcement of a polydentate thioether using silver nanoparticles

The design of networks from polymers and noble metal nanoparticles requires thorough control over topological polymer-particle arrangements. This study explores the interaction between a linear polydentate poly(propylene sulfide) (PPrS) ligand and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an aim to study its effect on mechanical and viscoelastic properties. Very low amounts (0.30 vol%) of silver nanoparticles lead to significant mechanical reinforcement of PPrS, yielding viscoelastic properties of an unfastened network with solid-like elastic responses on mechanical stimulation. The materials are made by ring-opening anionic polymerization of propylene sulfide to yield high molar mass PPrS with a total of 593 thioether functionalities per chain, followed by a simple in situ "grafting to" method to homogeneously incorporate AgNPs into the polymer matrix. From investigations on the chain dynamics using dynamic rheology it is concluded that well-dispersed AgNPs impose additional topological constraints on the polymer chains. Calculations of the statistical interparticle distances support a tele-bridging polymer-particle arrangement.

Dumbbells, trikes and quads: organic-inorganic hybrid nanoarchitectures based on "clicked" gold nanoparticles

The controlled assembly of gold nanoparticles in terms of the spatial arrangement and number of particles is essential for many future applications like electronic devices, sensors and labeling. Here an approach is presented to build up oligomers of mono functionalized gold nanoparticles by the use of 1,3-bipolar azide alkyne cycloaddition click chemistry. The gold nanoparticles of 1.3 nm diameter are stabilized by one dendritic thioether ligand comprising an alkyne function. Together with di-, tri- and tetra-azide linker molecules the gold nanoparticle can be covalently coupled by a wet chemical protocol. The reaction is tracked with IR and UV-vis spectroscopy and the yielded organic-inorganic hybrid structures are analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. To evaluate the success of this click chemistry reaction statistical analysis of the formed oligomers is performed. The geometric and spatial arrangements of the found oligomers match perfectly the calculated values for the used linker molecules. Dimers, trimers and tetramers could be identified after the reaction with the corresponding linker molecule. The results of this model reaction suggest that the used click chemistry protocol is working well with mono functionalized gold nanoparticles.

Single-molecule electronics: from chemical design to functional devices

The use of single molecules in electronics represents the next limit of miniaturisation of electronic devices, which would enable to continue the trend of aggressive downscaling of silicon-based electronic devices.

Molecularly stabilised ultrasmall gold nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization and bioactivity

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are widely used as contrast agents in electron microscopy as well as for diagnostic tests. Due to their unique optical and electrical properties and their small size, there is also a growing field of potential applications in medical fields of imaging and therapy, for example as drug carriers or as active compounds in thermotherapy. Besides their intrinsic optical properties, facile surface decoration with (bio)functional ligands renders AuNPs ideally suited for many industrial and medical applications. However, novel AuNPs may have toxicological profiles differing from bulk and therefore a thorough analysis of the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is required. Several mechanisms are proposed that cause adverse effects of nanoparticles in biological systems. Catalytic generation of reactive species due to the large and chemically active surface area of nanomaterials is well established. Because nanoparticles approach the size of biological molecules and subcellular structures, they may overcome natural barriers by active or passive uptake. Ultrasmall AuNPs with sizes of 2 nm or less may even behave as molecular ligands. These types of potential interactions would imply a size and ligand-dependent behaviour of any nanomaterial towards biological systems. Thus, to fully understand their QSAR, AuNPs bioactivity should be analysed in biological systems of increasing complexity ranging from cell culture to whole animal studies.

Scanning the potential energy surface for synthesis of dendrimer-wrapped gold clusters: design rules for true single-molecule nanostructures

The formation of true single-molecule complexes between organic ligands and nanoparticles is challenging and requires careful design of molecules with size, shape, and chemical properties tailored for the specific nanoparticle. Here we use computer simulations to describe the atomic-scale structure, dynamics, and energetics of ligand-mediated synthesis and interlinking of 1 nm gold clusters. The models help explain recent experimental results and provide insight into how multidentate thioether dendrimers can be employed for synthesis of true single-ligand-nanoparticle complexes and also nanoparticle-molecule-nanoparticle "dumbbell" nanostructures. Electronic structure calculations reveal the individually weak thioether-gold bonds (325 ± 36 meV), which act collectively through the multivalent (multisite) anchoring to stabilize the ligand-nanoparticle complex (∼7 eV total binding energy) and offset the conformational and solvation penalties involved in this "wrapping" process. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the dendrimer is sufficiently flexible to tolerate the strained conformations and desolvation penalties involved in fully wrapping the particle, quantifying the subtle balance between covalent anchoring and noncovalent wrapping in the assembly of ligand-nanoparticle complexes. The computed preference for binding of a single dendrimer to the cluster reveals the prohibitively high dendrimer desolvation barrier (1.5 ± 0.5 eV) to form the alternative double-dendrimer structure. Finally, the models show formation of an additional electron transfer channel between nitrogen and gold for ligands with a central pyridine unit, which gives a stiff binding orientation and explains the recently measured larger interparticle distances for particles synthesized and interlinked using linear ligands with a central pyridine rather than a benzene moiety. The findings stress the importance of organic-inorganic interactions, the control of which is central to the rational engineering and eventual large-scale production of functional building blocks for nano(bio)electronics.