Determination of the Elastic Constants of Gold Nanorods Produced by Seed Mediated Growth

Abstract

The extensional and breathing modes of gold nanorods in aqueous solution have been examined by time-resolved spectroscopy. These experiments yield values for the elastic constants for the rods. The results show that gold nanorods produced by wet chemical techniques have a smaller Young's modulus than bulk gold. HRTEM and SAED studies show that the rods have a 5-fold twinned structure with growth along the [110] crystal direction, consistent with previous reports. However, neither the growth direction nor the twinning provide a simple explanation for the reduced elastic moduli measured in our experiments.