A Novel Thermal Electrochemical Synthesis Method for Production of Stable Colloids of "Naked" Metal (Ag) Nanocrystals
- ORNL
Solution synthesis of nanocrystal silver is reviewed. This paper reports a novel thermal electrochemical synthesis (TECS) for producing metal Ag nanocrystals as small as a few nanometers. The TECS method requires mild conditions (25-100oC), low voltage (1-50 V DC) on Ag electrodes, and simple water or aqueous solutions as reaction medium. Furthermore, a tubular dialysis membrane surround electrodes proves favorable to produce nanosized (<10 nm) Ag nanocrystals. Different from those nanocrystals reported in literature, our nanocrystals have several unique features: (1) small nanometer size, (2) nakedness , i.e., surfaces of metal nanocrystals are free of organic ligands or capping molecules and no need of dispersant in synthesis solutions, and (3) colloidally stable in water solutions. It was discovered that Ag nanoparticles with initially large size distribution can be homogenized into near-monodispersed system by a low power (< 15 mW) He-Ne laser exposure treatment. The combination of the TECS technique and the laser treatment could lead to a new technology that produces metal nanoparticles that are naked, stable, and uniform sized. In the presence of stabilizing agent (also as supporting electrolyte) such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), large yield of silver nanoparticles (<100nm) in the form of thick milky sols are produced.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). High Temperature Materials Lab. (HTML)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 984753
- Journal Information:
- Materials Science and Engineering C: Biomimetic materials, sensors and systems, Vol. 29, Issue 3; ISSN 0928-4931
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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