Dispersion of thiol stabilized gold nanoparticles in lyotropic liquid crystalline systems

A new method of forming stable dispersions of alkanethiol and aromatic thiol stabilized gold nanoparticles in two different lyotropic liquid crystalline mediums, namely, a columnar hexagonal phase made up of a Triton X-100/water system and an inverse columnar hexagonal phase made up of pure AOT, are presented. The dispersions have been characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and polarizing optical microscopy. Our studies show that the gold nanoparticles are distributed outside the columns formed by both the surfactants. Such dispersions can find applications in the study of nanoparticles as well as in the development of devices based on some unique properties of metal nanoparticles.