Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanoraspberry Consisted of Gold Nanoparticle and Aniline Oligomer

Abstract

A nanometer-sized raspberry-like architecture, consisting of an aggregation of repeated sequences of a three-dimensional gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-organic component-AuNP arrangement, has been prepared with a single-step procedure in an aqueous system involving the reduction of aurate to AuNPs by aniline. The raspberry-like aggregates, which have diameters in the range of 150–200 nm, comprise of AuNPs with a mean particle diameter of 5.0 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis and spectroscopic measurement have revealed that the organic component consists of aniline oligomer obtained from oxidation of the aniline monomer by aurate. The nanoraspberry displays an electrical property of polyaniline (PANI), which has a high conductivity after doping process (3.1 × 10−2 Scm−1) and becomes an insulator after the dedoping (>10−8 Scm−1). On the contrary, the nanoraspberry shows an electrochemical behavior differing from that of PANI. It is clear that the electrical and electrochemical properties of the nanoraspberry depend strongly on the aniline oligomer and AuNP, respectively.