Green Synthesis of High-Purity Mesoporous Gold Sponges Using Self-Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles Induced by Thiolated Poly(ethylene glycol)

Abstract

A facile and green synthesis method for mesoporous gold sponges has been developed, which involves a simple mixing of a very small amount, of thiolated-poly(ethylene glycol) (SH-PEG) and citrate-covered gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in aqueous solution at room temperature. While SH-PEG molecules have been widely used as biocompatible hydrophilic capping agents for Au NPs for stable dispersion in aqueous solution, here they are used as destabilizing agents. When SH-PEG molecules are mixed with citrate-covered Au NPs at the molar ratio ranging from 3 to 20 (SH-PEG/Au NP), mesoporous gold sponges with randomly interconnected 3D network structures are formed within 2 to 3 h. This is-driven by the destabilization of negatively charged citrate molecules, on Au NPs by a small number of SH-PEG molecules bonded on the particle surface, which results in the decrease in zeta potential and thus the assembly of Au NPs into porous sponges. The use of very low concentration of SH-PEG (ca. 20-200 nM) in aqueous solution at room temperature makes the method highly eco-friendly as well as results in high-purity as-synthesized gold sponges (98.17 wt %). The mesoporous gold sponges fabricated with the present method exhibit a high SERS activity, making them highly applicable for sensitive SERS detection of molecules.