Monodisperse gold nanoparticles formed on bacterial crystalline surface layers (S-layers) by electroless deposition

The fabrication of patterned arrays of nanoparticles whose electronic, optical and magnetic properties will find technological applications, such as ultra-high-density memories, is currently one of the most important objectives of inorganic material research. In this study, the in situ electroless nucleation of ordered two-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles (5 nm in size) by using bacterial S-layers as molecular templates and their characterization by small spot X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (XPS) is presented. This yielded the elemental composition of the nanoclusters, which consisted of almost entirely elemental gold, and possible side reactions on the cluster and protein surface. The preferential deposition of the gold nanoparticles on the S-layer suggests that topography and functional groups are important for superlattice formation.