Dithiocarbamate ligand stabilised gold nanoparticles

Dithiocarbamates are used as adsorbates for the preparation of gold nanoparticles. A range of mono- and tetrakis-functionalised dithiocarbamate ligands containing alkyl, benzyl and resorcinarene cavitand substituents are synthesised. Nanoparticles are prepared by a two-phase synthesis and are characterised by 1H NMR spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and elemental analysis. The colloids are found to be stable over a number of months storage in air. The synthetic versatility of the dithiocarbamate ligand is further demonstrated by the synthesis of ruthenium(II) bipyridyl dithiocarbamate capped gold nanoparticles.