Preparation and formation mechanisms of metallic particles with controlled size, shape, structure and surface functionality.

摘要

Due to their excellent conductivity and chemical stability, particles of silver (Ag), gold (Au), copper (Cu) and their alloys are widely used in the electronic industry. Other unique properties extend their uses to the biomedical, optical and catalysis fields. All of these applications rely on particles with well controlled size, morphology, structure, and surface properties. Chemical precipitation from homogeneous solutions was selected as the synthetic route for the investigations described in this work. Based on the evaluation of key process parameters (temperature, reactant concentrations, reactant addition rate, mixing, etc.) the general formation mechanisms of metallic particles in various selected precipitation systems were investigated and elucidated.;Five different systems for preparing particles with controlled size, morphology, structure and surface functionality are discussed. The first system involves the precipitation of Ag nanoparticles with spherical and anisotropic (platy or fiber-like) morphology. It will be shown that the formation of a stable Ag/Daxad complex has a significant impact on the reaction kinetics, and that the chromonic properties of Daxad molecules are responsible for the particle anisotropy. In the second system, Au-Ag core-shell nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solution by a two-step precipitation process. The optical properties of these particles can be tailored by varying the thickness of the Ag shell. It was also determined that the stability of the bimetallic metallic sols depends on the Cl-ion concentration in solution. The third system discussed deals with preparation by the polyol process of well dispersed Cu nanospheres with high crystallinity and excellent oxidation resistance. We show that the heterogeneous nucleation (seeding) approach has significant merit in controlling particle size and uniformity. The functionalization of Au nanoparticle surfaces with glutathione molecules is discussed in the next section. The developed method is used to quantify the maximum adsorption load of glutathione on the gold particles and assess their potential in biomedical applications. Finally, a process capable of generating uniform Ag particles with diameters ranging from 80 nm to 60 µm and with controlled crystallinity/internal structure is described.