Linking Ag nanoparticles by aliphatic α,ω-dithiols: A study of the aggregation and formation of interparticle hot spots

Abstract

Linear α,ω-dithiols have been used as linkers to control the aggregation of silver nanoparticles. The characterization of the resulting nanoparticle clusters thus formed was carried out using plasmon resonance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy in both independent and correlated measurements. The obtained nanoparticle assemblies present morphologies that vary according to the dithiol length, displaying controllable-size interparticle gaps (plasmonic hot spots) with potential application in the detection of a large list of hydrophobic analytes. © 2013 American Chemical Society.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant FIS2010-15405), by the Comunidad de Madrid, through MICROSERES II network (grant S2009/TIC-1476). I.I.-L. also acknowledges CSIC and FSE 2007- 2013 for a JAE-CSIC predoctoral grant.Peer Reviewe