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Henrion_22361300_2018.pdf
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- Metal nanostructures have been extensively studied over the past few decades because of their unique physico-chemical properties. Whereas early studies were focused on spherical nanospheres, anisotropic nanoparticles received increasing attention due to their size and shape-dependent properties. These nanoparticles can be assembled into larger structures to exploit their collective behaviour. One interesting strategy to assemble building blocks is the bottom-up approach (called self-assembly) where information is contained inside the building blocks (through their interactions for example) and is executed without external guidance. This may be achieved by the functionalization of the single units. In this work, Pt nanowires were synthesized by electrochemical deposition within the pores of a polycarbonate membrane. A protocol was developed to prepare nanowires bearing different functionalities on their extremities and on their sidewall. To demonstrate the feasibility of this protocol, the nanowires were first functionalized with fluorophore-labelled moieties. First, the extremities of the nanowires were functionalized with fluorescein-labelled poly(allylamine hydrochloride). The protocol involved the layer-by-layer deposition of different polyelectrolytes on the nanowires extremities as they were trapped in the membrane and the lateral side was protected. Various parameters were optimized to successfully functionalize the nanowire extremities. The formation of a few micrometres long polyelectrolyte tails grafted on to both extremities of the nanowires is reported. A protocol for the subsequent functionalization of the lateral side with rhodamine-labelled poly(ethylene glycol) thiol was also developed. Although many challenges are yet to be addressed, this work paves the way toward the synthesis of multifunctional nanowires for self-assembly.