Recent advances in nanoparticle synthesis with reversed micelles

Synthesis of nanoparticles in microemulsions is an area of considerable current interest. This subject can be broadly divided into two sections defined by the nature of the host microemalsion reaction medium. Water-in-oil microemulsions have been used to prepare nanoparticles for more than two decades, and a wide variety of materials has been synthesised by these methods. Control parameters have been elucidated for influencing both nanoparticle concentration and morphology, allowing for tailored syntheses with various applications. More recently, the ability to synthesise nanoparticles in water/supercritical fluid microemulsions was realised. This method promises to be a highly useful route for controlled nanoparticle synthesis due to the added control variables afforded by tuneability of the solvent quality (density) through pressure and temperature. This review presents the current state-of-the-art in both fields. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.