Synthesis and SERS Properties of Nanocrystalline Gold Octahedra Generated from Thermal Decomposition of HAuCl₄ in Block Copolymers

Octahedral nanoparticles of gold are prepared via a short thermal decomposition of auric acid loaded polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) copolymer solutions. Thermal treatment of a monolayer of HAuCl4-loaded block copolymers on silicon leads to quantitative Au0 production, of which > 70 % is in the form of sub-100 nm gold octahedra (see figure). The as-synthesized arrays of gold nanoparticles are highly active for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2089/2006/c1368_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.