Simple, one-step synthesis of gold nanowires in aqueous solution.

A simple procedure to synthesize gold nanowires based on the reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate by 2-mercaptosuccinic acid in aqueous solution is presented. This procedure requires no additional capping or reduction agent and produces wires with an apparent curly morphology several micrometers in length with diameters as thin as 15 nm. Some of the wires produced end in a ribbonlike structure, finally terminated by a flat triangular prism. Investigations by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (bright and dark field), scanning transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy as well as conductivity measurements indicate fully connected, polycrystalline gold objects.