Effects of the reaction rate on the size control of nanoparticles synthesized in microemulsions

Microemulsions are very versatile reaction media which find nowadays many applications. Microemulsions have been used to control the particle size of many inorganic and organic materials because they induce drastic changes in the reagent concentrations and this can be particularly used for tuning the reaction rates. The influence of the chemical reaction rate on the final size of nanoparticles prepared in microemulsions is studied by computer simulation. We found that different chemical reaction rates lead to different final nanoparticle size. This result is explained mainly due to the ripening contribution to nanoparticle growth. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.