Synthesis of Confeito-Like Gold Nanostructures by a Solution Phase Galvanic Reaction

Anisotropic gold nanostructures with confeito-like shapes have been synthesized by a solution phase galvanic reaction. The nanostructures are uniform in shape and size (similar to 300 nm). These nanostructures possess smaller sized protuberances (diameter similar to 30 nm, length similar to 40 nm) in large numbers, which are protruding from the body. UV-visible spectrum shows surface plasmon bands at 320, 415, and 530 nm and a broad absorption band extending from 650 nm to the near-infrared region. These nanostructures constitute an active substrate material for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, which was confirmed from representative experiments using rhodamine (R6G) as probe molecule.