Deposition of gold nanoparticles on thin polyaniline films

Local and bulk deposition of gold particles was accomplished by the spontaneous reaction between chemically reduced polyaniline (PAN) thin films and AuCl₄. PAN layers were deposited on glass, indium tin oxide (ITO), and glassy carbon (GC) by the Langmuir-Blodgett method and spin-coating. Characterization of the PAN films was carried out by microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and electrochemistry. We found that the nature of the gold deposit was greatly affected by the thickness of the PAN. Scanning electrochemical microscopy was used as a means of locally depositing gold nanoparticles on an unbiased PAN film by anodically dissolving a gold micro- electrode. This represents a generic approach whereby a variety of metal micro- and nanoparticles can be locally deposited on insulating supports.