Large-scale preparation of single-crystalline gold nanoplates

A thermal process has been demonstrated for the large-scale preparation of single-crystalline gold nanoplates with several micrometers in size, carried out by heating a salicylic acid–HAuCl4 aqueous solution at 100 °C in the presence of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). It is found that such nanoplates are single-crystalline gold with a preferential growth direction along the {111} plane and PDDA is crucial to the formation of such nanoplates. The possible formation mechanism of gold nanoplate is also discussed.