Formation of polyelectrolyte-gold nanoparticle necklaces on paper

This work reports a simple method to form and visualize individual polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle necklace-like structures on paper, which is applicable to other porous surfaces. In this work, one-dimensional necklaces of negatively charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been electrostatically assembled along the backbone of a cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) chain adsorbed on paper. The process involves rapidly passing a dilute CPAM solution through filter paper, adsorbing the polyelectrolyte on the surface, followed by the immediate filtration of an AuNP suspension through the same filter paper. The nanoparticles used were negatively charged, citrate ion capped AuNPs with an average diameter of 20 nm. Scanning electron microscopy images of the dried paper sample showed that the AuNP necklaces were adsorbed in a perpendicular direction to that of the cellulose fibers and along the length of the CPAM molecules which were draped over the fibers. The effects of CPAM polymer concentration, charge density, and molecular weight on such assembly of AuNPs were studied. This technique enables the visualization of polyelectrolyte molecules and the formation of very well organized and reproducible polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle necklaces on a porous, three-dimensional substrate.