Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 28: New Instruments and Methods

CPP 28.8: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 15:45–16:00, C 264

Stable Metallic Silver Nanostructures by Atomic Vapour Deposition on a Volatile Liquid Jet — Michael McNally, Gediminas Galinis, Oliver Youle, Ruth Chantry, and •Klaus von Haeften — Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

Synthesis of nanoparticles in liquids is a diverse field covering a range of powerful empirical methods to produce a variety of shapes, structures and compounds. The majority of methods are based on chemical reduction, inherently restricting the choice of starting materials and stabilisers. We show that by using a liquid micro jet it is possible to perform physical vapour deposition directly into a high vapour pressure liquid, producing a phase of intrinsically stable metallic silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles produced by deposition directly into ethanol exhibit a plasmon resonance in the optical absorption spectrum which is unchanged over more than a year, indicative of metallic behaviour and exceptionally stability, without additives. TEM imaging show evenly dispersed spherical particles with a log-normal distribution of sizes peaking at 2.5 nm. Our observations suggest that atomic silver arrives at the liquid surface, becomes trapped, nucleates and grows into nanoparticles by subsequent collisions with silver atoms and ions. The particles grow step by step, or stabilise. This process occurs within the transit time of the liquid jet of 100 ms. Our method enable the investigation of metal vapour-solvent interactions of a practically unlimited range of metal-solvent combinations, the elucidation of the role of stabilisers and the production novel nanoparticles.