Preparation of Polystyrene- and Silica-Coated Gold Nanorods and Their Use as Templates for the Synthesis of Hollow Nanotubes

Abstract

We report the preparation of polystyrene and silica-coated Au nanorods (aspect ratio 13 with 16 nm short axis). The coating resulted in a modification of the optical properties of the Au nanorods. Dissolution of the Au core from the polystyrene- and silica-coated Au nanorods using KCN enabled the formation of hollow polystyrene and silica nanotubes.