Monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles prepared using long-chain alkanethioacetates.

This letter describes the preparation of monolayer-protected nanoparticle clusters (MPCs) from the adsorption of n-tetradecanethioacetate onto colloidal gold nanoparticles using the Brust-Schiffrin two-phase synthesis method. The MPCs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. These studies found that the monolayer coatings on the gold nanoparticles were nearly indistinct with regard to chemical composition, monolayer structure, and Au-S ligation when compared to those prepared from the analogous adsorption of n-tetradecanethiol (i.e., the thioacetate headgroup adsorbs to gold as a thiolate, with concurrent loss of the acetyl group). Under equivalent conditions of formation, however, the size of the gold nanoparticles formed was larger when using the alkanethioacetate adsorbate (e.g., 4.9 +/- 1.2 nm) compared to the alkanethiol adsorbate (e.g., 1.6 +/- 0.3 nm). The observed difference in size is rationalized on the basis of the stronger ligating ability of the thiol compared to that of the thioacetate during gold nanoparticle nucleation and/or growth. The use of alkanethioacetates affords significant control of particle size and allows the formation of MPCs with thiol-sensitive omega-functional groups.