How to Use Localized Surface Plasmon for Monitoring the Adsorption of Thiol Molecules on Gold Nanoparticles?

The functionalization of spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in solution with thiol molecules is essential for further developing their applications. AuNPs exhibit a clear localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) at 520 nm in water for 20 nm size nanoparticles, which is extremely sensitive to the local surface chemistry. In this study, we revisit the use of UV-visible spectroscopy for monitoring the LSPR peak and investigate the progressive reaction of thiol molecules on 22 nm gold nanoparticles. FTIR spectroscopy and TEM are used for confirming the nature of ligands and the nanoparticle diameter. Two thiols are studied: 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUDA) and 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA). Surface saturation is detected after adding 20 nmol of thiols into 1.3 × 10^-3 nmol of AuNPs, corresponding approximately to 15,000 molecules per AuNPs (which is equivalent to 10.0 molecules per nm²). Saturation corresponds to an LSPR shift of 2.7 nm and 3.9 nm for MUDA and MHDA, respectively. This LSPR shift is analyzed with an easy-to-use analytical model that accurately predicts the wavelength shift. The case of dodecanehtiol (DDT) where the LSPR shift is 15.6 nm is also quickly commented. An insight into the kinetics of the functionalization is obtained by monitoring the reaction for a low thiol concentration, and the reaction appears to be completed in less than one hour.