Enhanced stability of gold colloids produced by femtosecond laser synthesis in aqueous solution of CTAB.

Femtosecond laser ablation of gold in an aqueous solution of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is shown to produce nanoparticle suspensions with superior colloidal stability compared to other surfactants, with shelf lives exceeding 2 months even at low concentrations of CTAB, below 1 mM. CTAB also helps control nanoparticle size with mean diameters of 6.3, 5.