Gold nanorod/molybdenum sulfide core-shell nanostructures synthesized by a photo-induced reduction process

Synthesis and potential applications of trimetallic nanostructures

The present review highlights the synthetic strategies and potential applications of TMNs for organic reactions, environmental remediation, and health-related activities.

Shell thickness-controlled synthesis of Au@Ag core-shell nanorods structure for contaminants sensing by SERS

The accessibility of contaminants detection methods is urgently required for environmental and food safety control. In this report, we developed the Au@Ag core-shell nanorod structures for contaminants sensing by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The silver shell thickness and the corresponding plasmon wavelength of Au@Ag core-shell nanorods were tuned by changing the coating time and the silver precursor amount. Moreover, these structures exhibit ultra-sensitive detection ability for Nile blue A dye and Fenobucarb pesticide sensing by SERS. Interestingly, the highest Raman enhancement factor is obtained for the Au@Ag core-shell sample with a minimal silver shell thickness leaded by the optimal enhancement of the electromagnetic field of bimetallic structures. Hence, our report demonstrates that the combination of unique features of two plasmonic metals into core-shell structures promises potential applicability in SERS-based analysis.

Gold Nanorods: The Most Versatile Plasmonic Nanoparticles

Gold nanorods (NRs), pseudo-one-dimensional rod-shaped nanoparticles (NPs), have become one of the burgeoning materials in the recent years due to their anisotropic shape and adjustable plasmonic properties. With the continuous improvement in synthetic methods, a variety of materials have been attached around Au NRs to achieve unexpected or improved plasmonic properties and explore state-of-the-art technologies. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the latest progress on Au NRs, the most versatile anisotropic plasmonic NPs. We present a representative overview of the advances in the synthetic strategies and outline an extensive catalogue of Au-NR-based heterostructures with tailored architectures and special functionalities. The bottom-up assembly of Au NRs into preprogrammed metastructures is then discussed, as well as the design principles. We also provide a systematic elucidation of the different plasmonic properties associated with the Au-NR-based structures, followed by a discussion of the promising applications of Au NRs in various fields. We finally discuss the future research directions and challenges of Au NRs.