Philippine E-Journals

Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Nanoparticles via Vertical Vapor Phase Growth Technique

Brian D. Lucero | Jelena F. Sebastian | Nikko P. Quevada

 

Abstract:

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have unique chemical, magnetic, electrical, optical and mechanical properties compared to their bulk material and because of this, they have a lot of promising applications in medicine, electronics and catalysis. Au, Cu, Pt, Pd, and Ni have been synthesized via vertical Vapor Phase Growth technique. Their respective metal hydrates were used as starting material. Thirty-five milligrams (0.035 g) of each was weighed and loaded into a fused silica tubes sealed at a pressure of ~10-6 Torr. The fused silica tubes were then set into temperatures of 1000°C and 1200°C with a growth time of 6 and 4 hours using a Fisher Programmable Muffle Furnace. SEM characterization showed micro- and nanospheres, wires sheets, polyhedrons and irregular structures at which they are mostly found at the samples baked at 1000°C for 6 hours and 1200°C for 4 hours. Mechanisms for the formation of some particles were proposed and discussed. EDX analysis shows that the metals were present in the particles that were synthesized.