Dendritic gold nanosheets by an emulsion-mediated growth strategy

Two-dimensional nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention owing to their unique lamellar structures and physicochemical properties. Branched structure endows two-dimensional nanomaterials with more active sites and excellent catalytic and sensing performances. However, the preparation of dendritic lamellar nanomaterials that integrate both two-dimensional lamellar architecture and branched structure remains a great challenge. Here, we prepared two-dimensional dendritic gold nanosheets (DGNs) via the emulsion-mediated strategy using the triblock copolymer F127 (PEO100-PPO65-PEO100). The SEM results show that DGNs have a two-dimensional lamellar branched structure. The particle size and lamellar thickness of DGNs are 5340 nm and 90 nm, respectively. The lengths of the primary, secondary, and tertiary branches of DGNs are 2480, 1410, and 650 nm, respectively. Furthermore, three-dimensional lamellar flower-like structures and rod-like branched structures are obtained by adjusting the concentration of TMP (2,3,6-trimethylphenol). This novel emulsion-mediated method paves the way for the preparation of two-dimensional nanomaterials with branched structures.