Fabrication of gold nanoflowers by template-assisted electrodeposition

Gold (Au) nanoflowers have been fabricated using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates assisted electrochemical deposition on the Au film, in which the templates were coated by poly (dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). PDMS is a viscous, soft material which helps the AAO template to stick to the Au film and assists in the formation of flower-like nanostructures. First, Au nanoplates grew in one-dimensional (1D) pores of the AAO template and uniformly distributed on the Au film; afterwards, the nanoplates continued to grow three-dimensionally because the contracted PDMS provided more space and further formed flower-like shape. The Au nanostructures were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) as well as energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Enhanced fluorescence was observably detected along the change of the surface morphology and the nanoflowers exhibited a higher intensity than other Au nanostructures.