The spontaneous formation and plasmonic properties of ultrathin gold-silver nanorods and nanowires stabilized in oleic acid.

Ultrathin Au-Ag alloy nanorods and nanowires of different lengths and ca. 1.9 nm diameter are prepared through a low-temperature decomposition of the precursor [Au2Ag2(C6F5)4(OEt2)2]n in oleic acid. This nanostructure formation has been studied through TEM, HRTEM, EDS, HS-SPME-GC-MS and (19)F NMR spectroscopy. The UNRs and UNWs display a length-dependent broad band in the mid-IR region that is related to the longitudinal mode of the surface plasmon resonance of the ultrathin nanostructures.