Modifying the chemistry of graphene with substrate selection: A study of gold nanoparticle formation

Anna M. Zaniewski, Christie J. Trimble, Robert Nemanich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Graphene and metal nanoparticle composites are a promising class of materials with unique electronic, optical, and chemical properties. In this work, graphene is used as a reducing surface to grow gold nanoparticles out of solution-based metal precursors. The nanoparticle formation is found to strongly depend upon the graphene substrate selection. The studied substrates include diamond, p-type silicon, aluminum oxide, lithium niobate, and copper. Our results indicate that the chemical properties of graphene depend upon this selection. For example, for the same reaction times and concentration, the reduction of gold chloride to gold nanoparticles on graphene/lithium niobate results in 3% nanoparticle coverage compared to 20% coverage on graphene/silicon and 60% on graphene/copper. On insulators, nanoparticles preferentially form on folds and edges. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis is used to confirm the nanoparticle elemental makeup.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number123104
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume106
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 23 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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