Photo-induced formation and self-assembling of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution of amphiphilic dendrimers with oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) core branches and oligo( ethylene oxide) terminal chains

Dendritic molecules with oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) core branches and oligo( ethylene oxide) terminal chains were found to be highly susceptible to the singlet oxygen mediated photooxidation process. These photosensitive amphiphilic dendrimers were used as both the photo-reducing agent and particle stabilizer for the formation of gold nanoparticles in an aqueous solution of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III) hydrate (HAuCl4 center dot 3H(2)O) at ambient atmosphere. Gold nanoparticles produced at high molar ratios of the amphiphilic dendrimer to HAuCl4 (> 0.5) were demonstrated to be stable for several months, whereas relatively large hexagonal/triangular gold single-crystal films and self-assembled hollow fiber clusters were observed at lower molar ratios of the amphiphilic dendrimer to HAuCl4.