Photochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles via controlled nucleation using a bioactive molecule

Synthesis of gold nanoparticles had been achieved using dopamine hydrochloride (dhc), an important bioactive molecule in a photochemical way. Solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), HAuCl4 and dhc were photoirradiated to form gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles in different size range was obtained by varying the concentration of dhc. The growth of different-sized gold with time was monitored. The particles were characterized by absorption spectra and TEM analysis. The procedure involved a new technique for gold nanoparticle preparation and was simple, reproducible and required single step. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.