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Controlling nanoparticles with atomic precision: the case of Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60
1Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Nano Letters
|December 10, 2009
Summary
Researchers developed a simple two-step synthesis for uniform gold (Au144)(SCH2CH2Ph)60 nanoparticles. This method avoids difficult size separation, offering broad utility for practical applications.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Chemistry
Background:
- Larger gold nanocrystals (>2 nm) exhibit crystalline structures and a distinct surface plasmon resonance band around 520 nm.
- Conventional synthesis often requires challenging post-synthesis size separation steps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a facile, two-step synthetic method for producing monodisperse gold nanoparticles.
- To characterize the synthesized gold nanoparticles and investigate their unique properties.
Main Methods:
- A two-step synthesis was employed to prepare gold nanoparticles.
- Electrospray mass spectrometry and other characterization techniques were used to determine the formula and structure.
Main Results:
- The synthesis exclusively yielded monodisperse Au(144)(SCH2CH2Ph)60 nanoparticles, eliminating the need for size separation.
- These ultrasmall nanoparticles display a stepwise, multi-band absorption spectrum, indicative of quantum confinement.
- Unlike bulk gold or larger nanocrystals, Au(144)(SCH2CH2Ph)60 nanoparticles do not adopt a face-centered cubic structure.
Conclusions:
- The developed synthetic approach is highly efficient and produces uniform Au(144)(SCH2CH2Ph)60 nanoparticles.
- The unique optical and structural properties of these nanoparticles stem from quantum confinement effects.
- This facile synthesis offers significant advantages for the practical application of ultrasmall gold nanoparticles.
