Seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods by using dopamine as the weak reducing agent in a binary surfactant mixture

Gold nanorods were prepared by using a modified seed-mediated wet chemical growth method at reduced concentrations of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium oleate. The weak reducing agent used in the growth solution was dopamine. Gold nanorods with longitudinal surface plasmon resonance wavelength ranging from 780 to 1115 nm were obtained by varying the amounts of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, silver nitrate, and hydrochloric acid in the growth solution. Moreover, the photothermal properties of the gold nanorods at 1064 nm were studied, indicating the potential applications of gold nanorods as photothermal agents in the second near-infrared window.