Gold Nanoparticle Linking to Polypyrrole and Polythiophene: Monolayers and Multilayers

The interaction between gold nanoparticles in apolar solvents and polypyrrole or polythiophene films of varous types is investigated. Regular and full monolayers and multilayers are produced via solution processing using gold nanoparticles and soluble polypyrrole or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene). The new layered materials, characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV-vis spectroscopy, AFM, and conductivity, are uniform, stable, and mechanically robust. Gold/polymer multilayer conductivities (3-6 x 10(-2) S cm(-1)) are comparable with those previously reported for other multilayered gold nanoparticles of the same size.