Synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles by a novel electrochemical method.

Spherical silver and gold nanoparticles with narrow size distributions were conveniently synthesized in aqueous solution by a novel electrochemical method. The technological keys to the electrochemical synthesis of monodispersed metallic nanoparticles lie in the choice of an ideal stabilizer for the metallic nanoclusters and the use of a rotating platinum cathode. Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was chosen as the stabilizer for the silver and gold clusters. PVP not only protects metallic particles from agglomeration, but also promotes metal nucleation, which tends to produce small metal particles. Using a rotating platinum cathode effectively solves the technological difficulty of rapidly transferring the (electrochemically synthesized) metallic nanoparticles from the cathode vicinity to the bulk solution, avoiding the occurrence of flocculates in the vicinity of the cathode, and ensuring the monodispersity of the particles. The particle size and particle size distribution of the silver and gold nanoparticles were improved by adding sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) to the electrolyte. The electrochemically synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by TEM and UV/Vis spectroscopy.