Liquid—liquid interface-mediated Au—ZnO composite membrane using ‘thiol-ene’ click chemistry

A nanoparticle-decorated composite membrane has been devised at the water/CCl4 interface based on the self-assembly of ligand-stabilized gold and zinc oxide nanoparticles, exploiting the 'thiol–ene' click chemistry between the thiol groups of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid-stabilized ZnO nanoparticles and the ene functionality of cinnamic acid attached to gold nanoparticles. The interfacial assembly of ultrasmall particles leads to a multilayer film that exhibits charge-dependent permeability of amino acid molecules across the membrane.