Nanotechnology/Overview of Production methods

Navigate
<< Prev: Nanomaterials
>< Main: Nanotechnology
>> Next: Semiconducting Nanostructures

Types of nanometal synthesis edit

The most common types of nanometal synthesis deal with 'wet' methods in which metal nanoparticles are produced in a colloid with an organic material of some sort.

Gold nanoparticles can be produced by either:

1) Reduction of HAuCl4 in a solution of sodium citrate, then boiling it, causing gold nanoparticles to form in a wine-red solution.

2) Mixing HAuCl4 in water, which produces a solution that is subsequently transferred into toluene using tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOAB), a phase transfer catalyst. Phase transfer catalysts help reactants dissolve in organic (carbon-containing) material where the reactant otherwise couldn't w/o the PTC. Afterwards, the solution is stirred with sodium borohydride, in the presence of certain alkanes, which bind to the gold in the solution, allowing for the formation of gold nanoparticles.

Synthesis of other metal nanoparticles can possibly be achieved by reducing metal salts in organic solvents such as ethanol, or by variations of the above methods which synthesize gold nanoparticles. [1] [2]

References edit

See also notes on editing this book about how to add references Nanotechnology/About#How_to_contribute.

  1. Luis M Liz-Marzán. "Nanometals formation and color", Materials Today, February 2004, page 27.
  2. Phase transfer catalyst-Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_transfer_catalyst