A new approach to the construction of functional materials is demonstrated. Gold nanoparticles immobilized in a polymer hydrogel allow external control over the conductivity by switching the gel between its swollen and shrunken states. This reversible cycling (see Figure) controls the interparticle distances between the Au nanoparticles, which may lead to new methods in sensing and catalysis.
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Pardo-Yissar et al. (2001) studied this question.