Adsorption change of cyclohexyl acetylene on gold nanoparticle surfaces

The conformational changes of cyclohexyl acetylene (CHAL) on gold nanoparticle surfaces were investigated by means of concentration- and temperature-dependent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Depending on concentrations and temperatures, the spectral changes of the acetylene ν(C≡C) stretching vibration on gold nanoparticles appeared to be more conspicuous than those of cyclohexyl ring modes. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation was performed at the level of B3LYP/6-31G++(d,p) to compare the energetic stability and vibrational frequencies of the various conformers of cyclohexanethiol (CHT) and CHAL. The DFT calculations were also carried out at the level of B3LYP/LACVP** on the CHAL molecule adsorbed on Au clusters at several sites to explain the spectral changes of the acetylene ν(C≡C) stretching vibration.