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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
This paper describes a kinetic study of the mediator-template assembly of gold nanoparticles in solutions based on the spectrophotometric measurement of the surface plasmon resonance optical property. Gold nanoparticles of ∼5 nm diameter encapsulated with tetraoctylammonium bromide shells were studied as a model system. The core-shell nanoparticles were assembled into 3D spherical assemblies via a mediator-template assembly route in which a thioether-based multidentate ligand functions as a mediator and the tetraoctylammonium shell molecules function as a templating agent. In this report, the results were compared with those obtained for the assembly of gold nanoparticles in several different systems with features similar to the mediator-template assembly. The findings further provided further insights into understanding the kinetic factors governing the assembly of nanoparticles, and have important implications to the design and control of the nanostructures for sensory and catalytic applications.