Electrolessly synthesized gold nanotubes as efficient flow-through reactors

Electroless metal plating in combination with nanochannel-containing templates is a versatile method for the fabrication of metal nanotubes [1]. In contrast to the electrodeposition of metals, electroless plating relies on the surface-selective chemical reduction of a metal precursor [2]. The simultaneous coverage of the whole template surface with metal nanoparticles favors the formation of tube-like structures. Metal nanotubes have been applied in different fields ranging from catalysis [3] to sensing [4] and separation [5]. In the presented paper [7], we significantly refined the standard synthesis of gold nanotubes [6] in ion track etched polycarbonate. A precise control of the template properties such as track density, template thickness and tube diameter is required for potential applications. Therefore, we fabricated our templates by etching polycarbonate foils irradiated at the UNILAC. Finally, we utilized the obtained nanostructures as efficient microreactors [7].