title: Stability of thiol-passivated gold particles at elevated temperatures studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
abstract: The thermal stability of thiol-passivated gold colloids has been studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Different colloids were chemically synthesized with thiol lengths from 3 to 8, and 16 carbon atoms. Depending on the synthesis parameters, the mean gold particle size varied from 1.6 to 4.9 nm for the particular colloid. Temperature-dependent measurements revealed a general tendency of shells with longer thiol chains (>5 carbon atoms) to be more stable in terms of desorption but to show a X-ray radiation-induced damage, which was absent with shorter thiols. Additionally, the self-assembling properties of the colloids were characterized by TEM, showing differences as a function of the chain lengths.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Klingelbergstrasse 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland. Michael.Buettner@unibas.ch
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Büttner
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Belser
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oelhafen
mesh_terms: D017979:Gold Colloid / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010316:Particle Size; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D017979:Gold Colloid; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds