Influence of mercury amalgamation on three-dimensional orientation of single gold nanorods coated with mesoporous silica shell

Abstract

Herein, we performed single‐particle studies to reveal three‐dimensional spatial orientational changes in the AuNR cores coated with mesoporous silica shell (AuNRs@mSiO2) following mercury (Hg) amalgamation. Defocused orientation imaging technique was used to determine the tilting angle of single AuNR cores after Au–Hg amalgam formation. Single amalgamated AuNR cores inside the silica shell were randomly tilted between 0° and 20° with respect to the glass slide on which they were deposited; no orientational changes were observed for AuNRs@mSiO2 following Hg amalgamation. This study will help in better understanding the effect of silica shell on the morphological and orientation alterations of single AuNRs@mSiO2 induced by Hg amalgamation. This study presents the role of mesoporous silica shell in the amalgamation process and the orientation alterations of single AuNRs@mSiO2 induced by Hg amalgamation.