Tracking the growth of tadpole-shaped aggregates by scanning electron microscopy.

A single-step strategy has been developed toward the synthesis of micrometer-sized, tadpole-like structures comprising a repeating sequence of a three-dimensional gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-aniline polymer-AuNP arrangement. The size and shape of the microstructure strongly depends on the concentration of aniline in the reaction solution. Herein, we describe the formation mechanism of the microstructure by focusing on the surface morphology.

Simple preparation of microstructure by using an organic-inorganic raspberry-like hybrid as a building block.

A single-step strategy has been developed for synthesizing a micrometer-sized structure by using the raspberry-like hybrid as a building block comprising a repeated sequence of a three-dimensional gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-aniline oligomer-AuNP arrangement. The hybrid holds a high density of highly dispersible AuNPs without any contact with each other, and therefore the microstructure has many nanometer-sized gaps between the adjacent AuNPs for both electrical and optical sensing. We have discussed how the formation mechanism of the microstructure is based on using the hybrid.