Synthesis of spherical amorphous selenium nano and microparticles with tunable sizes

Spherical amorphous nano and microparticles of elemental selenium have been prepared by simple reduction method. For surface stabilisation, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), polysorbate 80 and tryptone have been used. ZetaSizer and transmission electron microscopy measurements were used for characterisation of the size and shape of prepared particles and X-ray diffraction measurements to confirm their amorphous nature. The sizes of the nanoparticles stabilised by SDS can be controlled by varying of the surfactant concentration. Particles stabilised by tryptone have microdimensions and could be therefore applied where nanodimensions are not suitable.