Synthesis and Modeling of Metallic Nanoparticles in Compressed Liquid and Supercritical Fluid Based Reverse Micelles

The water/AOT/liquid alkane reverse micelle system has proven to be an effective medium for the production of nanoscale materials and has become a popular area of study. It has been demonstrated that the properties of the bulk alkane phase influence the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, particularly the ultimate particle size. The use of supercritical fluids as the bulk phase provide a novel medium for particle synthesis in that the properties that control the particle growth can be fine tuned by adjusting the temperature and pressure of the system. In this paper we discuss the properties of the bulk fluid phase and their effects on the synthesis of copper and silver nanoparticles with emphasis on compressed propane and supercritical ethane. The experimental results are complemented by the use of a total interaction energy model used to predict the ultimate particle size produced.