Isothiouronium-modified gold nanoparticles capable of colorimetric sensing of oxoanions in aqueous MeOH solution

Isothiouronium-modified gold nanoparticles 1 with an average diameter of 5.8 nm were synthesized from bis(5-(N,N′-dimethyl-S-isothiouronio)pentyl) disulfide 2. The surface plasmon band at 524 nm in 10% (v/v) H2O–MeOH showed a selective red shift upon adding anions, making this potentially useful as a new anion sensor material.