Electrochemically Controlling the Size of Gold Nanoparticles

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Abstract
This work demonstrates the electrochemical synthesis of nanoscale gold particles using a surfactant solution. Tetradodecylammonium bromide (TTAB) surfactant was applied to stabilize the gold clusters. Experimental results reveal that the size of the produced gold nanoparticles is controlled by the amount of TTAB surfactant, the current density, and the growth temperature. The size of the gold nanoparticles can be controlled in the range 58.3–8.3nm58.3–8.3nm . The particle size decreases as the amount of TTAB increases from 1to90mg1to90mg . The optimal current density in this study was 3mA∕cm23mA∕cm2 . The size of the produced nanoparticles increases linearly with the growth temperature from 25to60°C25to60°C . The gold nanoparticles were observed by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A mechanism for electrochemically controlling the size of the gold nanoparticles is presented.