Growth of gold nanorods on surfaces

The surfactant-assisted seeded growth method was adapted for growth of gold nanorods directly on mica surfaces. Spherical gold seed particles were first linked to the surface and then dipped in a cationic surfactant growth solution. Part of the grown particles were nanorods with a typical length of several hundred nanometers and diameter of 10-20 nm. The probability to grow elongated particles out of a seed on the surface was found to be larger than the comparable solution growth process. Successive dipping in the growth solution was found to increase the length and thickness of the gold nanorods without a significant increase in aspect ratio.