Fullerenethiolate-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles: A New Class of Surface-Confined Metal−C60 Nanocomposites

This paper reports the preparation and characteristic property of a new nanocomposite gold cluster with fullerene as a carbon nanocluster, C 60 −Au nanoparticles, together with the first account of electrochemical comparison of the C 60 −Au nanoparticle films and the self-assembled monolayers of C 60 -thiol 1 on gold electrodes. Octanethiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles were treated with a fullerene C 60 -terminated alkanethiol ( 1 ) to give new fullerenethiol-functionalized gold nanoparticles (C 60 −Au nanoparticles) of 2 nm diameter with a very narrow size distribution. Immersion of a gold electrode in a solution of C 60 −Au nanoparticles deposited the colloid films of them on the electrode surface which showed two distinct reversible reduction/oxidation waves and significant electrochemical stability. The C 60 −Au nanoparticle films were firmly immobilized on the planar electrode by a simple self-assembly method without use of terminal ligand like bifunctional aminosiloxane or mercaptosiloxane. The electrochemical responses for the C 60 −Au nanoparticle films and self-assembled monolayers of C 60 -thiol 1 adsorbed on gold electrodes are significantly different.