Optical properties of monodispersed silver nanoparticles produced via reverse micelle microemulsion

Silver nanoparticles produced by the sodium borohydride reduction of silver nitrate were stabilized by means of 1-dodecanethiol providing sulfur atom. (n-Dodecyl) trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), which was used as a phase transfer agent in two-phase system involving water and toluene, played a significant role in the formation of monolayer-protected silver nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-vis), FT-IR spectra and fluorescence. The results indicate that the system is monodispersed and leads to the self-assembly of silver nanoparticles into O-D quanta-dot arrays. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.