A regular three-dimensional conductive nanoparticle network of silver particles constructed by linking the particles via a conjugated organic dithiol bridges demonstrates that the electrical conductivity and surface plasmon resonance frequency can be related to the nature of the linkers employed. The regular packing of the particles was not greatly affected by the nature or length of the linkers and appears to be determined largely by the much larger particles, approximately closed-packed with the nonrigid thiol molecules wrapped partially around in a thin corona-like layers. Ultraviolet Visual Spectra recorded the Surface Plasmon (SP) peak for silver nanoparticles in toluene solution that shifts significantly to longer wavelength (ca. 475 nm) on addition of 1,4-benzenedithiol, but no analogous shift in the SP peak was observed on addition of 1,9-nonanedithiol. A density of states approach taking gold clusters as model for the molecular junctions should compare well with other nanoparticles.
