High-density assembly of gold nanoparticles to multiwalled carbon nanotubes using ionic liquid as interlinker

Gold nanoparticles were deposited onto the surface of carbon nanotubes through an interlinker of ionic liquid terminated with hydroxyethyl units at one end and exchangeable chloride counterions at the other end. The morphology, structure, and composition of the resulting hybrids were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. A very high density of gold nanoparticles was homogeneously dispersed and well-separated from one another on the modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The optical absorption of the products was observed by UV-visible spectroscopy. The results imply that the obtained carbon nanotube-gold nanocomposites have a good application potential in catalysis, sensor, and fuel cells.