Self-assembly and wetting properties of gold nanorod–CTAB molecules on HOPG

The formation of self-assembled superstructures of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) after drying on a nonwetting highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Although SEM did not reveal coverage of CTAB layers, AFM showed not only CTAB assembly, but also the dynamics of the process on the surface. The self-assembled layers of CTAB molecules on the HOPG terraces prior to nanorod deposition were shown to change the wettability of the surface, and as a result, gold nanorod deposition takes place on nonwetting HOPG terraces.