Thiolized metal nanocrystals

The way in which the nanocrystals organize themselves depends critically on the core diameter, the nature of the ligand, substrate and even the dispersive medium used [101]. Thiolized metal nanocrystals readily arrange into two-dimensional arrays on removal of the solvent [29]. Using suitable methods, they can also be put into one-dimensional organization in the form of strings or assembled in a stepwise fashion in a three-dimensional superlattice (see Figure 4.8). 

Gold organosols using alkane thiols as surfactants were first prepared by Schiffrin and co-workers [109] by phase transferring gold ions and carrying out reduction in the presence of thiols. Several workers have adopted this procedure to obtain thiolized metal nanocrystals [110-113]. 

---