Controlled synthesis of gold nanoparticles by fluorescent light irradiation

A novel photochemical synthesis of size-controlled gold nanoparticles was reliably accomplished via both a direct reduction and a seeded-growth method at room temperature under the irradiation of fluorescent light. These methods utilized the intensity of fluorescent light that closely resembles daily sunlight (∼100 mW cm(-2)). This effectively allowed for the formation of gold nanoparticles with tunable sizes simply by controlling the concentration of trisodium citrate and gold chloride. The broad band fluorescent light was found to be an efficient source for inducing the formation of gold nanoparticles at ambient conditions. The size distribution and absorption property of the resulting nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by scanning/transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, UV-visible spectroscopy and powder x-ray diffraction. This photochemical synthesis demonstrates, for the first time, the reliable preparation of gold nanoparticles at room temperature upon irradiation with fluorescent light.