Impacts of surface ligand coverage on the electronic properties of thiol-protected gold nanoparticles.
Open Access
- Author:
- Haidet, Jonathan
- Area of Honors:
- Chemistry
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Benjamin James Lear, Thesis Supervisor
David D Boehr, Thesis Honors Advisor
Christine Dolan Keating, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Gold nanoparticles
electronic properties
density of states
surface ligand density
alkanethiol gold nanoparticles
nanoparticle surface coverage - Abstract:
- Metallic nanoparticle research is a branch of inorganic chemistry with potential in optics, electrochemistry, catalysis, biochemistry, and more. Within the field of nanoparticle chemistry, thiol-protected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are a widely utilized system in chemical research due to their stability and ease of synthesis among other considerations. Despite their prevalence in chemical literature, our understanding of how surface chemistry impacts the behavior of thiol-protected AuNPs remains incomplete. Similarly to how molecular inorganic chemists are afforded control over the electronic properties of metal complexes through ligand binding, it is anticipated that surface chemistry can likewise alter the electronic properties of AuNPs, thus allowing for increasingly targeted applications of these systems. In a prior publication by our group, we established that ligand identity influences electronic properties; however, the relationship to surface ligand density has yet to be explored. Herein we present a synthetic method by which the surface ligand density can be modified while retaining constant morphological characteristics, including size and shape. Subsequently, we delve into the examination of the electronic properties of these nanoparticles using Evans’ Method NMR to probe the density of electronic states near the fermi energy. This investigation aims to elucidate how alterations in surface ligand density impact the electronics of AuNPs, ultimately affording nanoparticle chemists similar electronic control to that enjoyed by molecular inorganic chemists.