From Nanodot to Nano wire: Hybrid Au/Titania Nanoarrays by Block Copolymer Templates

Abstract

A simple scheme to fabricate 2-D arrays of Au/titania hybrid nanopatterns is presented, using polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymer (PS-b-PEO) as templates coupled with sol-gel chemistry. Both the functionalized Au nanoparticles (NPs) and titania precursors are selectively incorporated into the PEO domain. A series of morphologies ranging from nanodot to nanowire arrays is formed and the mechanism of morphological evolution is discussed. Such hybrid films exhibit characteristic localized surface plasmon resonance bands originating from the coupling between neighboring Au NPs spatially located in a controlled manner. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.