Direct coating of silica on naked-gold nanoparticles (AuNP@SiO
2) and direct deposition of naked-gold nanoparticles on silica spheres (SiO
2@AuNP) were achieved utilizing 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) as in tandem a surface modifier and a silica precursor in an aqueous solution in the absence of any surface pre-treatment of the naked-AuNPs and SiO
2 spheres using coupling agents and amphiphiles. The AuNP@SiO
2 was prepared with the addition of an ammonia solution prior to a MPTMS aqueous solution into a naked-AuNP dispersion pre-prepared from sonochemical reduction of [AuCl
4]
− in an aqueous solution. We found that the addition of ammonia prior to MPTMS was critical for proper coating of SiO
2 on the naked-AuNPs. Furthermore, the SiO
2 shell thickness varied in the range of 40∼170 nm with the content of MPTMS that we applied in this experiment. Base condition (solution pH) was also an important factor for SiO
2-coating on the naked-AuNPs. The SiO
2@AuNP was formed from sonochemical reduction of [AuCl
4]
− in a SiO
2 sphere dispersion pre-prepared from sol-gel reaction of MPTMS in an aqueous solution.
View full abstract