Synthesis and characterization of Ag-Pd alloy nanoparticles/carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals nanocomposites

Synthesis of Ag-Pd alloy nanoparticles was carried out with carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals as the scaffolds by reducing metallic cations using NaBH4. Alloy particles with a size less than 10 nm were readily prepared and dispersed well. The average size of alloy nanoparticles decreased as the increasing molar ratio of Ag/Pd. The carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals supplied a coordination effect to adsorb metallic cations and alloy nanoparticles to prevent the aggregation of nanoparticles. The carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals as platforms carrying Ag-Pd alloy nanoparticles were used as labels for electrical detection of DNA hybridization. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.