Towards a tunable microemulsion method for nanoparticle synthesis

Abstract

We present a new twist on a conventional nanoparticle preparation method, which allows the one-pot synthesis of two fractions of size-controlled, spherical, monodisperse silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), one fraction of which can be suspended in organic solvent, and the other can be suspended in aqueous or other polar solvents, with no significant change to the core diameter of the suspended particles. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the careful selection of capping agents enables the tailoring of the NP surface and optical properties and controls the extent of partitioning between the organic and aqueous phases. This study can serve as a guide for the preparation of NPs with independent control over particle size, composition, surface coating and dispersing medium, thus allowing the contributions of each of these factors to the NP properties to be isolated and investigated individually.