Synthesis of gold nanorods and nanowires by a microwave-polyol method

摘要

HAuCl_4 was reduced by ethylene glycol, in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) under microwave (MW) heating in a continuous wave (CW) mode for 2 min. Dominant products were polygonal nanoplates and close-to-spherical nanoparticles of gold. In addition, small amounts of single crystalline gold nanorods and nanowires (0.5-3 percent of total number of products) with diameters of 20-100 nm and lengths of 0.6-5 (mu)m were produced. The diameter and length of gold nanorods and nanowires could be controlled by changing the HAuCl_4 centre dot 4H_2O/ PVP ratio. The formation mechanism of anisotropic gold nanostructures was discussed.