Synthesis of Densely Immobilized Gold-Assembled Silica Nanostructures

In this study, dense gold-assembled SiO₂ nanostructure (SiO₂@Au) was successfully developed using the Au seed-mediated growth. First, SiO₂ (150 nm) was prepared, modified by amino groups, and incubated by gold nanoparticles (ca. 3 nm Au metal nanoparticles (NPs)) to immobilize Au NPs to SiO₂ surface. Then, Au NPs were grown on the prepared SiO₂@Au seed by reducing chloroauric acid (HAuCl₄₎ by ascorbic acid (AA) in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The presence of bigger (ca. 20 nm) Au NPs on the SiO₂ surface was confirmed by transmittance electronic microscopy (TEM) images, color changes to dark blue, and UV-vis spectra broadening in the range of 450 to 750 nm. The SiO₂@Au nanostructure showed several advantages compared to the hydrofluoric acid (HF)-treated SiO₂@Au, such as easy separation, surface modification stability by 11-mercaptopundecanoic acid (R-COOH), 11-mercapto-1-undecanol (R-OH), and 1-undecanethiol (R-CH₃), and a better peroxidase-like catalysis activity for 5,5'-Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) reaction. The catalytic activity of SiO₂@Au was two times better than that of HF-treated SiO₂@Au. When SiO₂@Au nanostructure was used as a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, the signal of 4-aminophenol (4-ATP) on the surface of SiO₂@Au was also stronger than that of HF-treated SiO₂@Au. This study provides a potential method for nanoparticle preparation which can be replaced for Au NPs in further research and development.

Room-Temperature-Processable Wire-Templated Nanoelectrodes for Flexible and Transparent All-Wire Electronics

Sophisticated preparation of arbitrarily long conducting nanowire electrodes on a large area is a significant requirement for development of transparent nanoelectronics. We report a position-customizable and room-temperature-processable metallic nanowire (NW) electrode array using aligned NW templates and a demonstration of transparent all-NW-based electronic applications by simple direct-printing. Well-controlled electroless-plating chemistry on a polymer NW template provided a highly conducting Au NW array with a very low resistivity of 7.5 μΩ cm (only 3.4 times higher than that of bulk Au), high optical transmittance (>90%), and mechanical bending stability. This method enables fabrication of all-NW-based electronic devices on various nonplanar surfaces and flexible plastic substrates. Our approach facilitates realization of advanced future electronics.

Micropatterned stretchable circuit and strain sensor fabricated by lithography on an electrospun nanofiber mat

This paper describes a novel approach for composite nanofiber mats and its application to fabricate a strain sensor. Electrospun poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) nanofiber mats are micropatterned by a lithographic approach that includes selective oxidation of the nanofibers and removal of unreacted fibers. The P4VP/HAuCl4 complex is converted to P4VP/Au composites by chemical reduction. We investigate the electrical resistivity of the composite mats according to the number of complexation-and-reduction cycles, the thickness of the fiber mats, and the annealing temperatures which control the percolation of the Au nanoparticles in the fiber mats. Nozzle printing of a polymeric solution on the patterned nanofiber mats simply produces an array of strain-sensitive and strain-invariant units. The patterns demonstrate high strain-sensing performance without any mechanical and electrical failure over 200 bending cycles in the strain range of ε<0.17.

Template-free synthesis of large anisotropic gold nanostructures on reduced graphene oxide

The morphologies/dimensions of Au nanostructures can be tailored by merely controlling the reduction degree of graphene oxide surface. Au nanoparticles, long Au nanowires, and semicircular-shaped Au nanoplates are in situ synthesized on slightly, moderately, and highly reduced graphene oxide films respectively, without the need of any templating agent.

Preparation of continuous gold nanowires by electrospinning of high-concentration aqueous dispersions of gold nanoparticles

Gold nanowires are prepared by the electrospinning of highly concentrated aqueous dispersions of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) and subsequent annealing at higher temperatures. Continuous wires of sintered AuNPs are obtained as a result of this process. The Au wires are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, helium ion microscopy, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry.