Selective assembly of Au-Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticle hetero-dimers

Hetero-dimeric magnetic nanoparticles of the type Au-Fe(3)O(4) have been synthesised from separately prepared, differently shaped (spheres and cubes), monodisperse nanoparticles. This synthesis was achieved by the following steps: (a) Mono-functionalising each type of nanoparticles with aldehyde functional groups through a solid support approach, where nanoparticle decorated silica nanoparticles were fabricated as an intermediate step; (b) Derivatising the functional faces with complementary functionalities (e.g. amines and carboxylic acids); (c) Dimerising the two types of particles via amide bond formation. The resulting hetero-dimers were characterised by high-resolution TEM, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy and other appropriate methods. [Figure: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00604-015-1571-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.