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 microelectrode. This represents a generic approach whereby a variety of metal micro- and nanoparticles can be locally deposited on insulating supports.