Fullerene C60 films cross-linked with octane-1,8-dithiol: preparation, characterization and the use as template for chemical deposition of gold nanoparticles.
We report on the preparation of fullerene C60 thin films chemically cross-linked with octane-1,8-dithiol, which are capable of binding gold nanoparticles. The formation of a polymer was directly proved by means of laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectra, in which we observed the cleavage of fullerene-dithiol polymer at different bonds. Fourier-transform infrared, Raman and UV-visible spectra of the functionalized films exhibited notorious changes due to the formation of new covalent bonds between C60 molecules and bifunctional thiol. We further demonstrated that the dithiol-functionalized fullerene can be employed as a support for stable and homogeneous deposition of gold nanoparticles. Their average size is about 5 nm according to high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations, and up to 20 nm, as found from scanning tunneling microscopy images. The proposed binding mechanism is through a strong coordination attachment between Au nanoclusters and sulfur donor atoms of the functionalized fullerene, as supported by density functional theory calculations.
Meza-Laguna
Victor
V
Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico DF, Mexico.
Basiuk
Elena V
EV
Alvarez-Zauco
Edgar
E
Gromovoy
Taras Yu
TY
Amelines-Sarria
Oscar
O
Bassiouk
María
M
Puente-Lee
Iván
I
Basiuk
Vladimir A
VA