Structural characterization and photoelectrochemical properties of gold nanoparticle multistructures prepared by layer-by-layer deposition

Surface plasmon, which is induced by the oscillation of free electrons at the surface of a metal, generates remarkable enhancement of localized electric field owing to its interaction with the incident light field, which is called localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). In this study, we have fabricated densely packed multistructures of gold nanoparticle films by a layer-by-layer approach using polyions and films of LSPR-active gold nanoparticles prepared at the liquid-liquid interface. The structure and the optical properties of the multistructure were evaluated by transmission absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. In addition, the photoelectrochemical investigations of these films verified the anodic photocurrent generation due to photoexcitation of the gold nanoparticles.