Functional polysilanes of relevance for the synthesis of Au and Au–Pd nanoparticle assemblies—a study on the role of polymer‐supported thioether side chains

Abstract

Linear polysilanes, [{PhHSi} x {Ph(RSCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 )-Si} 1Àx ] n [R ¼ n-dodecyl (1), n-hexyl (2), n-butyl (3)], have been synthesized and their reactivity with HAuCl 4 Á3H 2 O (Polymer:Au ¼ 10:1, RT, toluene) examined to gain an insight into the role of polymer-supported thioether groups in the stabilization of in situ generated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The method allows a simple approach for expeditious synthesis of assemblies of AuNPs comprising of well-separated individual nanoparticles of average diameter 4.5 6 1.9 nm. In this regard, polysilane 1 with dodecyl side chains serves as a superior matrix than 2 and 3 and confers long shelf-life stability to the nanoparticle assembly. The structural attributes are preserved in Au-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles which have been synthesized from the polymer-gold nanoassembly.