Rapid seeded growth of monodisperse, quasi-spherical, citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles via H2O2 reduction

In this report, we demonstrate a rapid and simple seeded growth method for synthesizing monodisperse, quasi-spherical, citrate-stabilized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) via H(2)O(2) reduction of HAuCl(4). Au NPs with diameter ranging from 30 to 230 nm can be synthesized by simply adding 12 nm citrate stabilized Au NP seeds to an aqueous solution of H(2)O(2) and HAuCl(4) under ambient conditions. The diameter of the resulting Au NPs can be quantitatively controlled by the molar ratio of HAuCl(4) to the Au seeds. The standard deviation of the Au NP sizes is less than 10%, and the ellipticity (ratio of major to minor axes) of the NPs is less than 1.1. Compared to existing ones, the present seeded growth approach is implemented within 1 min under ambient condition, and no unfavorable additives are involved because H(2)O(2) can readily decompose into H(2)O during storage or via boiling.