Gold Nanoparticles in Organic Capsules;A Supramolecular Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles and Cucurbituril

摘要

Gold nanoparticles (<=1 nm) have been encapsulated inside cucurbi-t[7]uril (CB[7]) by vapor deposition or chemical reduction in aqueous solutions.CB[7] has unique host properties compared with CB[5] and CB[6].The particle size distribution obtained with CB[5] and CB[6] is similar to that obtained in the absence of CBs and the particles obtained are much too large to be incorporated inside the organic capsules.When gold nanoparticles are prepared inside CB[7] the resulting supramolecular assembly has shape-selective properties for gold interactions with amines,cyanide,and quaternary ammonium ions.Thus,CB[7] has the potential to be used in applications such as selective adsorption,sensing,and catalysis.