Toward the electrochemically-triggered assembly of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution

CHED 346

Gabrielle N. Gantos, ggantos@wellesley.edu, SeongEun Kim, skim14@wellesley.edu, and Nolan T. Flynn, nflynn@wellesley.edu. Department of Chemistry, Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02481-8203
Controlled assembly of nanoscale objects is a key to the advancement of nanoscience. The goal of this project is to develop electrochemical actuation for the assembly of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution. This technology will enable temporal and spatial control over the assembly of nanoparticles. We report progress toward creating gold nanoparticles possessing electrochemically active molecules bound to the surface. Two populations of particles, each with a separate surface molecule bound—one of which is an alkanethiol terminated with a hydroquinone group—have been investigated. The properties of these surface-modified nanoparticles are investigated using electrochemical methods, such as cyclic voltammetry and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Advances toward triggering the reaction between the two nanoparticle populations using electrochemical actuation are described.