Unconventional seed-mediated growth of ultrathin Au nanowires in aqueous solution

Ultrathin Au nanowires have garnered increasing attention in recent years because of their potential use in a range of applications due to their unique optical properties, conductivity, chemical activity, and discrete plasticity. Herein, we report an unconventional seed-mediated growth of ultrathin Au nanowires induced by hydrophobic molecules. Quite intriguingly, by adding a trace amount of hydrophobic molecules (i.e., toluene or chloroform) to the Au growth solution conventionally used for the growth of Au nanorods with cylindrical CTAB micelles as templates, CTAB-capped ultrathin Au nanowires (i.e., water-soluble ultrathin Au nanowires) were crafted. Similarly to the growth of Au nanorods, silver ions and Au seeds were crucially required to yield the water-soluble ultrathin Au nanowires. The growth mechanism of these ultrathin nanowires was also explored.