Control of the interparticle spacing in gold nanoparticle superlattices

We have investigated the formation of 2-D and 3-D superlattices of Au nanoclusters synthesized in nonionic inverse micelles, and capped with alkanethiol ligands, with alkane chains ranging from C-6 to C-18. The thiols are found to play a significant role in the ripening of these nanoclusters, and in the formation of superlattices. Image processing techniques were developed to reliably extract from transmission electron micrographs (TEMs) the particle size distribution, and information about the superlattice domains and their boundaries. The latter permits us to compute the intradomain vector pair correlation function, from which we can accurately determine the lattice spacing and the coherent domain size. From these data the gap between the particles in the coherent domains can be determined as a function of the thiol chain length. It is found that as the thiol chain length increases, the nanoclusters become more polydisperse and larger, and the gaps between particles within superlattice domains increase. Annealing studies at elevated temperatures confirm nanocluster ripening. Finally, the effect of the particle gaps on physical properties is illustrated by computing the effective dielectric constant, and it is shown that the gap size now accessible in superlattices is rather large for dielectric applications.