Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026
09:43
Synthesis of Immunotargeted Magneto-plasmonic Nanoclusters
Published on: August 22, 2014
15.7K
Molecular metal nanoparticles with pseudo-plasma absorption band
Liang Fang1,2,3, Rong Liu4, Zongbing He1,2,3
1Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
National Science Review
|February 16, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel anti-galvanic doping method for synthesizing large quantities of silver-zinc nanoparticles. This technique enables precise control over nanoparticle size and stability, overcoming previous limitations in metal nanoparticle synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Precise size control of metal nanoparticles, especially non-noble ones like Ag and Cu, is challenging.
- Distinguishing between nanoclusters and nanocrystals near critical transition sizes is difficult.
- Existing synthesis methods struggle with stability and multi-dispersity issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce an active metal anti-galvanic doping strategy for controlled nanoparticle synthesis.
- To achieve gram-scale synthesis of Ag-Zn nanoparticles with high stability and dispersity.
- To develop a method for obtaining mono-elemental Ag nanoparticles from Ag-Zn precursors.
Main Methods:
- An active metal anti-galvanic doping strategy was employed for Ag-Zn nanoparticle synthesis.
- Gram-scale synthesis of 1796-atom Ag-Zn nanoparticles was achieved.
- Ligand-exchange method was used for surgery-like de-alloying to obtain mono-Ag nanoparticles.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated gram-scale synthesis (2.40 g) of Ag-Zn nanoparticles, exceeding previous records by over 200 times.
- Successfully obtained 1.03 g of mono-Ag nanoparticle crystals via a novel de-alloying process.
- Both Ag-Zn and mono-Ag nanoparticles exhibited penta-twinned face-centered cubic (fcc) structures and molecular states with plasmon-like absorptions.
Conclusions:
- The anti-galvanic doping strategy effectively resolves stability and multi-dispersity issues in nanoparticle synthesis.
- A novel, surgery-like de-alloying method enables high-yield production of mono-elemental nanoparticles.
- The synthesized nanoparticles display unique structural and optical properties, including crystallization-induced photothermal enhancement and size-dependent absorbance.
