Asymmetric Surfactants for the Synthesis of Chiral Gold Nanorods

The colloidal synthesis of chiral gold nanostructures is predominantly based on the use of chiral molecules that can induce asymmetric patterning in growing nanocrystals. These chiral molecules achieve this either by specifically binding to the surface of the nanoparticles (1) or by promoting the formation of helically structured micellar templates (2), which act as semi-hard scaffolds to direct the growth of the nanostructures. In this work we report on the use of chirality inducing molecules comprising chiral surfactants. The hybrid inorganic-organic systems are investigated using, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), UV-vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD). The obtained inorganic nanoparticles will be structurally characterized by transmission electron microscopy 2D imaging and tomography. Optical properties of the inorganic nanoparticles are investigated by circular dichroism measurements.