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Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis

 

Gold nanoparticles stabilized by thiol functionality are extraordinarily stable and therefore are a great system for studying nanostructure formation. They have many applications, one use being stains in biological systems. Because gold nanoparticles are so easy to synthesize they have been studied intensely in recent years. A common synthesis involves the reduction of a gold salt in the presence of capping agent molecules such as thiols, citrates or phosphines. The functionalities of these capping agents can be altered to yield various chemical properties.
 
My research involves the synthesis of gold nanoparticles with a polymer-thiol monolayer. I am investigating the mechanism of particle formation in the presence of bulky ligands. TEM has been used extensively as a way of characterizing the particles. Figure 1 shows an example of TEM imaged particles.

Figure 1 Polymer monolayer coated gold nanoparticles 1.5nm-3nm in diameter.

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Professor Paul Braun • Phone: +1.217.244.7293 • Fax: +1.217.333.2736 • Email: pbraun@illinois.edu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign