Decorating Graphene Sheets with Gold Nanoparticles

Abstract

Renewed interest in graphene architectures has opened up new avenues to utilize them in electronic and\noptoelectronic applications. The desire to design graphene−metal nanohybrid assemblies has led us to explore\na solution-based approach of chemical reduction of AuCl₄^- ions in graphene suspensions. The gold particles\nanchored on octadecylamine functionalized graphene are readily suspendable in THF medium. The dependence\nof particle stability on the graphene concentration and SEM analysis indicate that the gold nanoparticles are\nwell dispersed on graphene sheets. Transient absorption spectroscopy measurements suggest that the ultrafast\ndisappearance of plasmon absorption and its recovery are unaffected by the presence of graphene.