Aging of gold nanoparticles: ligand exchange with disulfides

Aging of thiolate protected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) results in reduced reactivity in the disulfide exchange as monitored by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy with a bisnitroxide disulfide incoming ligand. Factors determining the reactivity of the aged particles were investigated. The presence of different binding sites on the surface of AuNPs and a surface reorganization process during aging can explain observed reactivity trends.