Construction of complex gold nanostructures from controlled self-assembly of zero-dimensional gold nanoparticles as building blocks is a fascinating approach to extend their applications in many fields. Carbon nanotubes are one of the most promising inorganic templates for this strategy because of their unique physical, chemical and mechanical properties with numerous potential applications. Here we demonstrate a bottom-up synthesis of gold nanowires in aqueous solution, through a self-assembly of gold nanoparticles on functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes followed by a thermal heating induced nanowelding. Different graphitic templates were explored, and the computational studies were employed to investigate the mechanism of these processes. We further demonstrate the chemical sensitivity of this nanohybrid material to parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) with potential applications in industrial control, personal safety and personal healthcare.

Welding of gold nanoparticles self-assembled on the graphitic templates and their applications in chemical sensing and breath odor detection

244th National Meeting (2012)

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