Aligning Au Nanorods by Using Carbon Nanotubes as Templates

With strings attached: Gold nanorods undergo uniform electrostatic assembly on multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) to form strings of rods with end-to-end contacts (see picture, PSS=polystyrene sulfonate, PDDA=poly(diallyldimethyl)ammonium chloride). This arrangement results in uniaxial plasmon coupling, and the polarization-dependent optical response has been used to monitor the degree of alignment of carbon nanotubes within polymer films.