Chemical states of dodecanethiolate-passivated Au nanoparticles: synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy

We have carried out a photoemission study using synchrotron radiation of dodecanethiolate (DT)-passivated Au nanoparticles supported on the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrates. From detailed line-shape analyses of An 4f corelevel photoemission spectra of DT-passivated An nanoparticles, it was found that Au 4f core-level spectra consist of two components. We attribute these components to the inner An atoms and surface An atoms bonded to surface dodecanethiolates. From these results, we discuss the chemical states of the present DT-passivated An nanoparticles. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.