No abstract

Tetraethylene glycol (HO-(C 2 H 4 O) 4 -H ) can be monofunctionalized by replacing one of the terminal hydroxy groups with the thiol SH group. The resulting molecule can be self-assembled on gold (111) surfaces. More importantly, this molecule allows the simple one-step preparation of protected, water-soluble gold colloids within a single aqueous phase. Attempts are made to use such protected water-soluble colloids as nucleating 'seeds' around which calcium carbonate can be crystallized.

Gold-coated glass slides have be patterned by using self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of alkane thiols. Through the use of a special thiol terminated with a styrene monomer, microstructures of 5 to 10 microm width and 70 A height have been formed on the surface by graft polymerization of styrene. These patterned gold slides have then been used to template the precipitation of thin titania films from ethanolic solutions of titanium isopropoxide to create microstructured architectures in the film. Plasmon resonance spectra have established the presence of different steps in the process and have been used to follow the kinetics of the precipitation of titania on the surface. The structured TiO2 films have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy.

No abstract

Tailor-made thiols allow a ruthenium-based catalyst for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) to be tethered to bulk gold surfaces and to gold colloids (see picture). The functionalized gold colloids combine the properties of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst systems. Tethering of the catalyst leads to a pronounced increase in its catalytic activity.