Abstract: Au nanowires were synthesized in lamellar liquid crystals of C₁₂E₄by using aqueous HAuC_l4solution as the aqueous phase of the liquid crystals and the C₁₂E₄itself as reducing agent. The effects of the reactant concentration, the surfactant/water molar ratio in the liquid crystal system and the reaction time on the morphology and size of the Au particles were investigated. The prepared Au nanoparticles are regular nanowires with a width of about 20 nm and a length of about several microns, showing a large aspect ratio under proper conditions. Alamellar liquid crystal templating mechanism has been proposed to interpret the experimental results.

Key words: Nonionic surfactant, C₁₂E₄, Lamellar liquid crystal, Templating synthesis, Au nanowires