title: Polyvinylpyrrolidone-induced anisotropic growth of gold nanoprisms in plasmon-driven synthesis.
abstract: After more than a decade, it is still unknown whether the plasmon-mediated growth of silver nanostructures can be extended to the synthesis of other noble metals, as the molecular mechanisms governing the growth process remain elusive. Herein, we demonstrate the plasmon-driven synthesis of gold nanoprisms and elucidate the details of the photochemical growth mechanism at the single-nanoparticle level. Our investigation reveals that the surfactant polyvinylpyrrolidone preferentially adsorbs along the nanoprism perimeter and serves as a photochemical relay to direct the anisotropic growth of gold nanoprisms. This discovery confers a unique function to polyvinylpyrrolidone that is fundamentally different from its widely accepted role as a crystal-face-blocking ligand. Additionally, we find that nanocrystal twinning exerts a profound influence on the kinetics of this photochemical process by controlling the transport of plasmon-generated hot electrons to polyvinylpyrrolidone. These insights establish a molecular-level description of the underlying mechanisms regulating the plasmon-driven synthesis of gold nanoprisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Yueming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: DuChene
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.|Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 3335 Q Avenue, Richland, Washington 99354, USA.
authors.forename: Yi-Chung
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Johnston-Peck
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Wenxiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: DiCiaccio
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Evan W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 3335 Q Avenue, Richland, Washington 99354, USA.
authors.forename: Dehong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1921-6683
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3366-2153
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Stach
authors.affiliation: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 3335 Q Avenue, Richland, Washington 99354, USA.
authors.forename: Zihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Wei David
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Wei