A simple strategy to improve the interfacial activity of true Janus gold nanoparticles: a shorter hydrophilic capping ligand Fernández Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel Chen, Limei Deming, Christopher P. Rodríguez Valverde, Miguel Ángel Chen, Shaowei Cabrerizo Vílchez, Miguel Ángel Hidalgo Álvarez, Roque Isidro Janus gold nanoparticles (JPs) of ∼4 nm-diameter half functionalized with 1-hexanethiol as a hydrophobic capping ligand exhibit significantly higher interfacial activity, reproducibility and rheological response when the other half is functionalized with 1,2-mercaptopropanediol (JPs-MPD) than with 2-(2-mercaptoethoxy)ethanol (JPs-MEE), both acting as hydrophilic capping ligands. The interfacial pressure measured by pendant drop tensiometry reaches 50 mN m−1 and 35 mN m−1 for the JPs-MPD at the water/air and water/decane interface, respectively. At the same area per particle, the JPs-MEE reveal significantly lower interfacial pressure: 15 mN m−1 and 5 mN m−1 at the water/air and water/decane interface, respectively. Interfacial dilatational rheology measurements also show an elastic shell behaviour at higher compression states for JPs-MPD while the JPs-MEE present near-zero elasticity. The enhanced interfacial activity of JPs-MPD is explained in terms of chemical and hydration differences between the MPD and MEE ligands, where MPD has a shorter hydrocarbon chain and twice as many hydroxyl terminal groups as MEE. 2024-02-26T11:59:23Z 2024-02-26T11:59:23Z 2016 info:eu-repo/semantics/article https://hdl.handle.net/10481/89586 10.1039/C5SM01908G eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional