Two-dimensional crystalline lattice templatlng: A new method for the preparation of polymer-covered metal and alloyed metal nanorods by a redox process

We demonstrate in this paper that two-dimensional (2-D) layered ceramics, materials that are highly anisotropic in terms of structure and properties can be used to induce the formation of polymer-covered metal nanorods. The procedure took advantage of the intrinsic planar, layered ordering of the metal cations suitable to be reduced and can be further used to engineer one-dimensional (1-D) metal alloy nanostructures by appropriate doping of the initial layered ceramic lattice with suitable cationic species. The procedure involved the formation in an intermediate step of a polymer-layered ceramic nanocomposite, highly porous to the diffusion of the reducing agent. Two structurally similar layered bismuthates, Bi ₂Sr ₂CaCu ₂O _8+δ and Bi ₆Sr ₂CaO ₁₂ were used as the precursor layered ceramics and the redox-active metal cations were Cu ²⁺ and Bi ³⁺.