Impact of Specifically Adsorbing Anions on the Electroless Growth of Gold Nanotubes

Abstract

Electroless metal deposition on nanochannel-containing templates is a versatile route towards metal nanotubes and nanowires if the plating reaction can be sufficiently controlled. In this study, disulfitoaurate-formaldehyde-based gold plating baths were modified by the addition of halides, pseudohalides, and EDTA. The introduction of specifically adsorbing anions strongly affected the heterogeneously autocatalyzed plating reaction and allowed the regulation of the reaction rate and the product morphology. The new plating baths showed enhanced stability and allowed the synthesis of homogeneous nanotubes of high aspect ratios (>150) in 30 μm thick ion track-etched polymer templates. Depending on the reaction conditions, solid and porous structures consisting of gold nanoparticles of differing size and shape were accessible. The presented strategy offers adapted gold thin films, nanotubes, and nanowires for applications in catalysis or sensing.