Gold electroless reduction in nanosized channels of thiol-modified SBA-15 material

A new procedure for the preparation of high aspect ratio Au nanowires utilizing gold electroless reduction in the hexagonally ordered, thiol-modified nanosized channels of the SBA-15 material is reported. Two different Au precursors were adsorbed onto pedant thiol groups, covalently bonded to the mesoporous silica surface, and used as seeds to grow extended Au nanostructures by treatment in Au electroless reduction bath. It is shown that the dimensions and the assembly of the Au seeds are important parameters for the subsequent electroless reduction process. The [AuCl4]- ions complexed to the TOAB molecules assembled on the thiol-modified mesoporous surface of the SBA-15 material are suitable precursors for the subsequent gold electroless reduction. The resulting structures are several micrometer long Au nanowires with uniform diameters of about 5 nm, having large single-crystalline domains. The TEM results clearly show that the growth of the Au nanowires is templated by the channel structure of the SBA-15 material.