Synthesis of gold colloids using polyelectrolytes and macroelectrolytes containing arsonic moieties

The control of size, shape, and stabilization of nanostructures is a grand challenge in the nanotechnology. For this purpose, two polyelectrolytes and two macroelectrolytes were synthesized. Polyelectrolytes with arsonic acid groups were synthetized by chemical modification of poly(p-acryloyloxibenzaldehyde) using ortho- and para-aminophenylarsonic acids (PE-1 and PE-2). Meanwhile, macroelectrolytes with arsonic acid groups were synthesized from hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene using arsanilic acids in ortho- and para-position (ME-1 and ME-2). Because of the position of arsonic acid groups, the degree of substitution of polyelectrolytes and macroelectrolytes, and the dissociation in liquid media, different nanostructures were obtained with them using the colloidal method. Quasi-spherical nanoparticles with average sizes of 6, 12, and 16 nm were obtained using PE-1, PE-2, and ME-2 in aqueous solutions, respectively. ME-1 is a strong reducing agent for Au3+ ions, and it led to obtaining of highly anisotropic nanostructures, such as dodecahedron, decahedron, and triangular and hexagonal nanoplates.