Colloidal synthesis of metallodielectric Janus matchsticks

Abstract

We present a gram-scale synthesis of metallodielectric Janus matchsticks, which feature a gold-coated silica sphere and a silica rod. SiO₂ Janus matchsticks are synthesized in one batch by growing amine-functionalized SiO₂ spheres at the end of SiO₂ rods. Gold deposition on the spheres produces Au–SiO₂ Janus matchsticks with an aspect ratio controlled by the rod length. The metallodielectric Janus matchsticks, produced by scalable colloidal synthesis, hold great potential as functional colloidal materials.