title: Two-dimensional self-organization of polystyrene-capped gold nanoparticles.
abstract: Thiol end-functionalized polystyrene chains have been introduced onto the surface of gold nanoparticles via a two-step grafting-to method. This simple grafting procedure is demonstrated to be efficient for gold nanoparticles of different sizes and for particles initially dispersed in either aqueous or organic media. The method has been applied successfully for a relatively large range of polystyrene chain lengths. Grafting densities, as determined by thermogravimetric analysis, are found to decrease with increasing chain length. In all cases, the grafting density indicates a dense brush conformation for the tethered chains. The resulting functionalized nanoparticles self-organize into hexagonally ordered monolayers when cast onto solid substrates from chloroform solution. Furthermore, the distance between the gold cores in the dried monolayer is controlled by the molecular weight of the grafted polystyrene. Optical absorption spectra recorded for the organized monolayers show the characteristic plasmon absorption of the gold particles. Importantly, the plasmon resonance frequency exhibits a distinct dependence on interparticle separation that can be attributed to plasmon coupling between neighboring gold cores.
authors.affiliation: Département de Chimie and Centre de Recherche en Sciences et Ingénierie des Macromolécules (CERSIM), Université Laval-Québec, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yockell-Lelièvre
authors.forename: Jessie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desbiens
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ritcey