Surface atomic defect structures and growth of gold nanorods

We present atomic and defect structural studies of technologically important gold nanorods synthesized by a wet chemical process. Our surface atomic structural studies and electron nanodiffraction from single nanorods have provided the first direct evidence of the stabilization of the highly unstable (110) surface by surfactant molecules. The insights into surface defect structures have important implications in the applications of nanorods in the molecular device technology. The origin and the development of the growth process of nanorods have been inferred from the results.