In situ fabrication of multifunctional gold–amino acid superstructures based on self-assembly

A facial strategy to construct multifunctional gold–amino acid superstructures is reported. The ferrocene–tryptophan conjugate could self-assemble into three-dimensional microflowers. What's more, gold nanoparticles could be biomineralized on the surface of the microflowers, achieving gold–amino acid superstructures. The formed superstructures exhibited significant photothermal effects and catalytic activity.