The effect of iodide on the synthesis of gold nanoprisms

It has been known that the iodide (I⁻) anions are necessary for the production of high-quality Au nanoprisms. Based on a previously reported seed-mediated synthesis of triangular gold nanoprisms, herein, we further optimised the synthesis process by varying the concentration of added NaI and seeds, respectively, to get high-quality (size-monodisperse, tip-sharp and purity-high) Au nanoprisms. The results show that the ratio between the concentration of I⁻ and seeds is a very sensitive parameter to control the quality (size-monodispersity, tip-sharpness and purity) of Au nanoprisms.