Ultrasonic, chemical stability and preparation of self-assembled fullerene[C60]-gold nanoparticle films

C60-functionalized gold nanoparticle films were self-assembled on the reactive surface of glass slides functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. The functionalized glass slides were alternately soaked in the solutions containing unmodified C60 and 4-aminothiophenoxide/hexane thiolate-protected gold nanoparticles. Organic reaction (amination) facilitated the layer-by-layer multilayer film assembly. C60-functionalized gold nanoparticle films have grown up to several layers (upto 5 layers were examined) depending on the immersion time. The assembled nanoparticle films were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy. The chemical stability of C60-gold nanoparticle films was studied by monitoring the changes in absorbance after the immersion of the films in acidic solutions. The ultrasonic stability of these nanoparticle films was studied by exposing them to ultrasonic irradiated surrounding, which results in the aggregation of nanoparticles on solid surfaces.