Small DNA additives to polyelectrolyte multilayers promote formation of ultrafine gold nanoparticles with enhanced catalytic activity

Polymer matrices are important host materials for nesting nanoparticles to be used in photonic, catalytic, environmental, and other applications. Several past studies suggested a unique role of DNA macromolecular template in the process of noble metal nanoparticle (NP) formation and growth; yet, no comparative studies with other polymeric matrices were performed. In order to address the effect of DNA on metal NP formation and catalytic performance, we synthesized Au NP in PSSNa/PAH/DNA multilayered films containing varied amounts of DNA and systematically studied morphology of multilayers, structure of gold NP formed in the multilayers, and catalytic properties of the NP. We found that decrease of Au NP size due to increase of DNA contents in the multilayers caused significant enhancement in the hybrid material catalytic properties.