Nanocomposites of ALD Hafnia Nanotubes Surface Functionalized with Gold Nanoparticles

Highly ordered hafnia (HfO2) nanotubes were fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) within the channels of macroporous Si templates. The nanotubes were released from the template by wet chemical dissolution of the Si template. We synthesized 35 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) modified with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid in order to functionalize the surface of the ALD grown HfO2 nanotubes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmition electron spectroscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the morphology of the Si template, the AuNPs and the resultant HfO2 tubes functionalized with gold nanoparticles.