Gold Nanorods: Watching Single Gold Nanorods Grow (Small 9/2012)

The cover picture, captured by atomic force microscopy, shows the evolution of two single-crystalline gold nanorods as growth time progresses. The gold nanorods are grown directly on silicon surfaces, to which gold seed particles of ca. 4 nm diameters had been previously linked via covalent bonding. The growth propagation of the nanorods is monitored by precisely measuring their 3D size, and their growth kinetics is then derived from these direct measurements rather than from statistical analyses as in other techniques. The quantitative study presented here represents an important approach toward gaining a better understanding of the seed-mediated growth mechanism of gold nanorods using a straightforward scanning probe microscopy method, which may ultimately lead to improved gold nanorod synthesis, controllable surface growth, and aligned nanorod array. For more information, please read the Communication “Watching Single Gold Nanorods Grow” by Z. Wei and co-workers, beginning on page 1331.