J. A. Hachtel, S. Yu, A. R. Lupini, S. T. Pantelides, M. Gich, A. Laromaine and A. Roig* Faraday Discuss., 2016, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C6FD00028B
The combination of iron oxide and gold in a single nanoparticle results in both magnetic and plasmonic properties that can stimulate novel applications in bio-sensing, medical imaging, or therapeutics. Microwave assisted heating allows the fabrication of multi-component, multi-functional nanostructures by promoting selective heating at desired sites. Recently, we reported a microwave-assisted polyol route yielding gold nanotriangles decorated with iron oxide nanoparticles. Here, we present an in-depth microstructural and compositional characterization of the system using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). A method to remove the iron oxide nanoparticles from the gold nanocrystals and some insights on crystal nucleation and growth mechanisms are also provided.