Reagents Gold(III) chloride hydrate (HAuCl 4 •xH 2 O, 99.995%), trisodium citrate dihydrate (C 6 H 5 Na 3 O 7 •2H 2 O, 99.0%), (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS, 98%), 5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2-thiol (ATDT, 98%), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (BPE, 97%), 4,4′bis(mercaptomethyl)biphenyl (BMMBP, 97%), 4-(trifluoromethyl) thiophenol (TFMTP, 99%), 4,4′-dipyridyl (44DP, 98%), d8-4,4′dipyridyl (d8-44DP), 4,4′-azopyridine (44AP, 99%), 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)acetylene (BPA), phthalazine (PHTH, 98%), 4-mercaptopyridine (4MPY, 96%), 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (2MBT, 97%), 4,4′-thiobisbenzenethiol (TBBT, 98%), 4-aminothiophenol (ATP, 96%), 4-nitrothiophenol (NTP, 99%), 2-bromothiophenol (BTP, 97%), benzyl mercaptan (BMP, 99%), 6-amino-2-mercaptobenzothiazole (AMBT, 97%), 2,5-bis(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole (BPT, 97%), sodium silicate aqueous solution (∼26.5%), and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, 99%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Reagent 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB, 99%) was purchased from Beantown Chemical. Reagent 5-(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4oxadiazole-2-thiol (PODT, 97%) was purchased from Alfa Aesar. Reagents 5-(4-pyridyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (PTT, 98%), thiophenol (PhSH, 99%), 2,2′-dipyridyl (22DP, 99%), 2-naphthalenethiol (2NT, 99%), and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4MBA, 90%) were purchased from Acros Organics. All work used deionized water (Milli-Q grade, Millipore) with a resistivity of 18.2 MΩ cm.