Booth, SG, Uehara, A, Chang, S-Y et al. (6 more authors) (2017) The significance of bromide in the Brust–Schiffrin synthesis of thiol protected gold nanoparticles. Chemical Science, 8. pp. 7954-7962. ISSN 2041-6520
Abstract
The mechanism of the two-phase Brust–Schiffrin synthesis of alkane thiol protected metal nanoparticles is known to be highly sensitive to the precursor species and reactant conditions. In this work X-ray absorption spectroscopy is used in conjunction with liquid/liquid electrochemistry to highlight the significance of Br⁻ in the reaction mechanism. The species [AuBr₄]⁻ is shown to be a preferable precursor in the Brust–Schiffrin method as it is more resistant to the formation of Au(I) thiolate species than [AuCl₄]⁻. Previous literature has demonstrated that avoidance of the Au(I) thiolate is critical to achieving a good yield of nanoparticles, as [Au(I)X₂]⁻ species are more readily reduced by NaBH₄. We propose that the observed behavior of [AuBr₄]⁻ species described herein explains the discrepancies in reported behavior present in the literature to date. This new mechanistic understanding should enable nanoparticle synthesis with a higher yield and reduce particle size polydispersity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017. This Open Access Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 Unported Licence. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Infineum Ltd PO 4500672762 Royal Academy of Engineering BRAGG Chair Diamond Light Source Ltd BRAGG Chair EPSRC EP/P022464/1 EPSRC EP/R00661X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 08 Nov 2017 12:09 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 22:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/C7SC03266H |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:123604 |