Heterogeneous Precipitation of Gold Nanoparticles on PEI Coated Silica Gel

Gold nanoparticles were precipitated on the surface of silica gel without mechanical mixing. Polyethylenimine (PEI) which was coated on the surface of silica gel reduced raw materials of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (III) tetrahydrate (HAuCl4 center dot 4H(2)O). Formation of gold nanoparticles on silica gel was confirmed by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (EDX). In this study, particles size distribution and coverage ratio of gold on silica gel were investigated.