1.

Synthesis The formation of monosized metallic nanoparticles is achieved in most cases by a combination of a low concentration of solute and polymeric monolayer adhered on to the growth surfaces. Both a low concentration and a polymeric monolayer would hinder the diffusion of growth species from the surrounding solution to the gro wth surfaces, so that the diffusion process is likely to be the rate of limiting step of subsequent growth of initial nuclei, which results in the formation of uniform-sized particles. In the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, various types of precursors, reducti on reagents, other chemicals and methods are used. General idea: Reduction + Capping Metallic nano particles can also be prepared by an electrochemical deposition me thod. This synthesis employs a simple electrochemical cell containing only a met al anode and a metal or glassy carbon cathode. The electrolyte consists of organ ic solutions tetraalkyammonium halogenides, which also serves as stabilizers for the produced metal nanoparticles. Upon the operation of an electric field, the anode undergoes oxidative dissolution forming metal ions, which would migrate to ward the cathode. The reduction of metal ions by ammonium ion leads to the nucle ation and subsequent growth of metallic nanoparticles in the solution. It was al so found that the current density has influence on the size of metallic particle s: increasing the current density results in reduced-size particles. 2. Gold nanoparticles Gold nanoparticles is a suspension (or colloid) of nanometer-sized particles of gold. the colloidal solution is either an intense red color (for particles less than 100 nm) or a dirty yellowish color (for larger particles). These interestin g optical properties of these gold nanoparticles are due to their unique interac tion with light. In the presence of the oscillating electromagnetic field of the light, the free electrons of the metal nanoparticles undergo an oscillation wit h respect to the metal lattice. This process is resonant at a particular frequen cy of the light and is termed the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Af ter absorption, the surface plasmon decays radiatively resulting in light scatte ring or nonradiatively by converting the absorbed light into heat. Moreover, the properties and applications of colloidal gold nanoparticles also d epend upon its shape. The difference in color of the particle solutions is more dramatic for rods than for spheres. For example, the rod-shaped nanoparticles ha ve two resonances: one due to plasmon oscillation along the nanorod short axis a nd another due to plasmon oscillation along the long axis, which depends strongl y on the nanorod aspect ratio, that is, length-to-width ratio. When the nanorod aspect ratio is increased, the long-axis LSPR wavelength position red shifts fro m the visible to the NIR and also progressively increases in oscillator strength . Due to these unique optical properties, gold nanoparticles are the subject of substantial research, with enormous applications including biological imaging, e lectronics, and materials science. Synthesis This method uses the chemical reduction of gold salts such as hydrogen tetrachlo roaurate (HAuCl4) using citrate as the reducing agent.