Controllable synthesis of branched gold nanocrystals with three-dimensional hierarchical structure

What is it about?

We would like to propose a new, facile and effective strategy for the controllable synthesis of single crystalline 3D branched gold nanocrystals with hierarchical structure by the assistance of cationic surfactant poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA) in acidic aqueous solution.The effects of the experimental parameters on the morphology of branched gold nanocrystals have been discussed in some detail. The formation process and possible mechanism were investigated

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Why is it important?

To our knowledge, using cationic polyelectrolyte PDDA assisted to shape-controllable synthesis of three-dimensional hierarchical branched gold nanostructures in aqueous solution has not been reported.The growth of branched gold nanocrystals obtained in our experiments is different from that of the previous one, they presented a [111] plane and growth along the <331> direction, which indicates that the growth mechanism might be different from that of the previous study.