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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
Versatile Technique to Produce a Hierarchical Design in Nanoporous Gold
Published on: February 10, 2023
Wires, plates, flowers, needles, and core-shells: diverse nanostructures of gold using polyaniline templates
P R Sajanlal1, T S Sreeprasad, A Sreekumaran Nair
1DST Unit on Nanoscience (DST UNS), Department of Chemistry and Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facility, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai-600 036, India.
Abstract:
A simple and versatile method for the synthesis of a wide range of polyaniline (PANI)-based 1D and 2D gold nanostructures of uniform size distribution with high colloidal stability is demonstrated. All the nanostructures were synthesized from oligoaniline-coated gold nanoparticle precursors. The nanostructures include nanowires of various sizes, nanoplates, and flower-like nanoparticles. These nanowires showed a pH-dependent shape transformation. Needle-like aggregates of Au/PANI were formed as the pH of the nanowire solution changed to 2.5. At higher pH (10.2), nanowires converted into spherical nanoparticles. Core-shell particles of Au/PANI composites have been achieved by the reversal of the pH of the nanowire from 10.2 to 2.9. The morphology of the nanostructures was studied by TEM and SEM. FTIR, UV-vis, XRD, and LDI MS were utilized for the characterization of the chemical composition of the nanostructures. A mechanism for the nanowire growth is proposed.
