title: Kinetically controlled seeded growth synthesis of citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles of up to 200 nm: size focusing versus Ostwald ripening.
abstract: Monodisperse citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles with a uniform quasi-spherical shape of up to ∼200 nm and a narrow size distribution were synthesized following a kinetically controlled seeded growth strategy via the reduction of HAuCl(4) by sodium citrate. The inhibition of any secondary nucleation during homogeneous growth was controlled by adjusting the reaction conditions: temperature, gold precursor to seed particle concentration, and pH. This method presents improved results regarding the traditional Frens method in several aspects: (i) it produces particles of higher monodispersity; (ii) it allows better control of the gold nanoparticle size and size distribution; and (iii) it leads to higher concentrations. Gold nanoparticles synthesized following this method can be further functionalized with a wide variety of molecules, hence this method appears to be a promising candidate for application in the fields of biomedicine, photonics, and electronics, among others.
authors: Institut Català de Nanotecnologia (ICN), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. neus.bastus@icn.cat
authors: Neus G
authors: NG
authors: Bastús
authors: Joan
authors: J
authors: Comenge
authors: Víctor
authors: V
authors: Puntes