Preparation of colloidal gold multilayers with 3-(mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane as a linker molecule

A novel strategy to prepare colloidal Au multilayers using 3-(mercaptopropy l)-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) as a linker molecule was demonstrated. The nano structure consists of alternate layers of ultrathin thiol-functionalized si lica films and Au colloids. In which, a surface sol-gel process was used to prepare the thiol-functionalized silica films. During the self-assembly of Au colloids, a reiterative immersion-rinse approach was used to ensure max imum coverage of isolated Au colloids. The surface coverage of the first co lloidal Au monolayer is ca. 45% of a dose-packed monolayer. The method yiel ds uniform layer-by-layer growth colloidal Au multilayers through self-asse mbly at the Au(lll) planes, as judged by the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) s pectroscopic data and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.