Shape Control of Gold Nanocrystal: Synthesis of Faceted Gold Nanoparticles and Construction of Morphology Diagram

Shape control of gold nanocrystal is still one of the most important challenges remaining to achieve geometry dependent properties. Thus far, several strategies have been developed to control the shape of nanoparticles, such as adding capping agents and diverse additives or adjusting the temperature and pH. Here, we used an already established seed-mediated method that allowed us to focus on controlling the growth stage. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and ascorbic acid (AA) were used as the ligand and the reducing agent, respectively, without using any additional additives during the growth stage. We investigated how the relative ratio of CTAB and AA concentrations could be a major determinant of nanoparticle shape over a wide concentration range of CTAB and AA. As a result, a morphology diagram was constructed experimentally that covered the growth conditions of rods, cuboctahedra, cubes, and rhombic dodecahedra. The trends in the morphology diagram emphasize the importance of the interplay between CTAB and AA. Furthermore, high-index faceted gold nanocrystal was obtained by two step seeded growth. Already synthesized cubic particles developed into hexoctahedral nanocrystal consisting of 48 identical {321} facets, which indicates that the growth of gold nanocrystal is affected by initial morphology of seed particles. The hexoctahedral gold nanoparticles can be used in catalysis and optical applications which exploiting their unique geometry. Our research can provide useful guidelines for designing various facetted geometries.