A novel photochemical approach is presented for the synthesis of shape-controlled plasmonic gold nanostructures supported on reduced graphene oxide. Graphene oxide (GO) interface enhances the rate of photochemical reduction of gold ions in water and influnces the growth rate of the initial gold nuclei leading the the formation of different shapes and assembiles depeding on the light source. The size, shape and morphology of the Au nanocrystals could be tailored by varying the light source and the exposure time. The resulting hybrid Au@RGO plasmonic nanostructures show signficantly enhanced photostability and photothermal response as compared to free gold nanostructures. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.