Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

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Self-assembled monolayers of thiolates on metals as a form of nanotechnology.

The interest in nanoscale materials stems from the fact that new properties are acquired at this length scale and, equally important, that these properties * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone, 404-8940292; fax, 404-894-0294; e-mail, mostafa.el-sayed@ chemistry.gatech.edu. † Case Western Reserve UniversitysMillis 2258. ‡ Phone, 216-368-5918; fax, 216-368-3006; e-mail, burda@case.edu. § Georgia Institute of Technology. 1025 Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 1025−1102

Chemistry and properties of nanocrystals of different shapes.

COLLOIDAL particles of metals and semiconductors have potentially useful optical, optoelectronic and material properties1–4 that derive from their small (nanoscopic) size. These properties might lead to applications including chemical sensors, spectro-scopic enhancers, quantum dot and nanostructure fabrication, and microimaging methods2–4. A great deal of control can now be exercised over the chemical composition, size and polydis-persity1,2 of colloidal particles, and many methods have been developed for assembling them into useful aggregates and materials. Here we describe a method for assembling colloidal gold nanoparticles rationally and reversibly into macroscopic aggregates. The method involves attaching to the surfaces of two batches of 13-nm gold particles non-complementary DNA oligo-nucleotides capped with thiol groups, which bind to gold. When we add to the solution an oligonucleotide duplex with 'sticky ends' that are complementary to the two grafted sequences, the nanoparticles self-assemble into aggregates. This assembly process can be reversed by thermal denaturation. This strategy should now make it possible to tailor the optical, electronic and structural properties of the colloidal aggregates by using the specificity of DNA interactions to direct the interactions between particles of different size and composition.

A DNA-based Method for Rationally Assembling Nanoparticles Into Macroscopic Materials

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable form of amorphous carbon with significant sp3 bonding. DLC is a semiconductor with a high mechanical hardness, chemical inertness, and optical transparency. This review will describe the deposition methods, deposition mechanisms, characterisation methods, electronic structure, gap states, defects, doping, luminescence, field emission, mechanical properties and some applications of DLCs. The films have widespread applications as protective coatings in areas, such as magnetic storage disks, optical windows and micro-electromechanical devices (MEMs).

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Diamond-like amorphous carbon

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

High Resolution X-Ray Elemental Mapping of Nanoparticles in the STEM

Concluding remarks: nanoparticle assemblies: state-of-the-art and future challenges.

Identifying Potential Active Species in Au/ZnO CO Oxidation Catalysts

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009 in Richmond, Virginia, USA, July 26 – July 30, 2009

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Structural Characterization of Vanadium Phosphate Catalysts Prepared using a Di-block Copolymer Template

The initial stages of heteroepitaxy of InSb on GaAs(100) grown by MBE have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. Three dimensional InSb island growth occurs in which the majority of the 14.6% misfit strain is accommodated by a square array of a/2<011= edge-type misfit dislocations. The implications of each island having a well defined defect array before coalescence into a continuous epilayer are discussed. Some 600-type a/2<101= interfacial defects and associated threading dislocations are also observed in coalesced films and possible reasons for their existence are explained. A strong asymmetrical distribution of planar defects in the InSb islands is observed and the origin of the asymmetry is discussed. Finally some evidence for local intermixing in the vicinity of the interface is presented.

Christopher J. Kiely

Papers

High Resolution X-Ray Elemental Mapping of Nanoparticles in the STEM

Concluding remarks: nanoparticle assemblies: state-of-the-art and future challenges.

Identifying Potential Active Species in Au/ZnO CO Oxidation Catalysts

Structural Characterization of Vanadium Phosphate Catalysts Prepared using a Di-block Copolymer Template

The Initial Stages of MBE Growth of InSb on GaAs(100) - A High Misfit Heterointerface