Organometallic surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles

Click cycloaddition reaction between azidodecanethiol and 4-ethynyl pyridine gave the thiol ligand L. Partial ligand exchange reaction between 1-hexanethiol-protected gold nanoparticles and L produced soluble gold nanoparticles (NP1) containing both linkers: the short 1-hexanethiol provides solubility in common solvents while L contains the free pyridine ligand. NP1 reacted with the complexes [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 and [RhCl(cod)]2 (cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene) to form Au NPs peripherally functionalized with organometallic Ru (NP2) and Rh (NP3) moieties, respectively. The gold nanoparticles were characterized using NMR, FT-IR, HRTEM, and TGA.