Surfactant/Polymer Complex Templated Construction of Gold Nanowires

Abstract

We developed a simple method for assemblies of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by using a complex template of surfactant/polymer films, forming nanowirelike structures. Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/modified partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (MHPAM) complexes deposited on mica substrate were observed to form nanowires through the salt-induced self-assembly. Then this structure was used as a “soft template” for the self-assembly of the AuNPs. The resulting morphology and structure have been observed and characterized by atomic force microscopy. The experiment confirms the assembly capabilities of surfactant/polymer complex templates and can be exploited for the targeted attachment of functional nanowires, which may be valuable as interconnects in nanoscale integrated circuitry.

Keywords:

• Atomic force microscopy
• gold nanoparticle
• self-assembly
• surfactant/polymer