Analysis of the growth process of gold nanorods with time-resolved observation

Gold nanorods are generated spontaneously in a surfactant solution. We developed an experimental setup where the growth of gold nanorods can be completely stopped at any instant. With this method, a time series of the growth process of gold nanorods was determined by the direct observation of nanorods with transmission electron microscopy. We estimated the growth rate of nanorods from the change in the average long-axis length over time. To understand the experimental results, we developed a mathematical model for the growth of nanorods. The present results should help to clarify the mechanism of the growth of gold nanorods.