Synthesis of multifunctional amorphous metallic shell on crystalline metallic nanoparticles

Colloidal nanoparticles can be coated with a conformal shell to form multifunctional nanoparticles. For instance, plasmonic, magnetic, and catalytic properties, chemical stability and biocompatibility can be mixed and matched. Here, a facile synthesis for depositing metal boride amorphous coatings on colloidal metallic nanocrystals is introduced. The synthesis is independent of core size, shape, and composition. We have found that the shell synthesis is limited to nanoparticles capped with short molecular weight and low binding energy ligands, and does not work with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-coated Ag nanoparticles or thiol-coated Au nanoparticles. Shell thickness can be as thin as 3 nm with no apparent pinholes. High pressure studies show that the coatings are highly resistant to crystallization and are strongly bonded to the crystalline core. By choosing either CoB or NiB for the coating, the composite nanoparticles can be either ferromagnetic or paramagnetic at room temperature, respectively.