Cover of the Chemistry of Materials Journal

The epitaxial growth of silver on gold nanorod seeds in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was developed, allowing tuning of the structure of core−shell particles Au@Ag from truncated cuboids to octahedra. This work investigated the key role played by DMSO and its fate after silver growth. DMSO is not only the cosolvent but also coordinated to the gold surface and is finally reduced into dimethyl sulfide (DMS). The cover artwork depicts the formation of silver shell on gold nanorod seeds in water−DMSO mixture which is accompanied by the reduction of DMSO into DMS. As the nanorods go deeper into the growth solution, the concentration of silver precursor increases, thus favoring the octahedral shape.

Israa Haidar, Axelle Day, Philippe Decorse, Stéphanie Lau-Truong, Alexandre Chevillot-Biraud, Jean Aubard, Nordin Félidj,* and Leïla Boubekeur-Lecaque* (Chem. Mater. 2019, 31, 8, 2741-2749).