In situ organization of gold nanorods on mixed self-assembled-monolayer substrates

A method is described for assembling gold nanorods, end-to-end, into long chains attached on top of a mixed self-assembled monolayer that has been functionalized with streptavidin. Methods to prepare chains Of nanorods in colloidal suspension have been reported by others, but our protocol offers a way to directly form such structures on a substrate. The rods are spaced approximate to 5 nm apart in the resulting chains, which extend for over a micrometer in length. The assembly and morphology of the nanorod structures were characterized by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, as well as by scanning electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. Structures of this type could conceivably serve as plasmonic waveguides in future nanodevices.