Kinetics of nanoparticle synthesis by liquid-liquid interfacial reaction

In this paper we report a novel method of using liquid-liquid interfacial reaction to produce noble metal palladium nanoparticles at the interface of 1,2-dichloroethane and water. The growth kinetics and aggregation of the nanoparticles were followed using dynamic light scattering and interfacial tension measurements with pendant drop technique. The synthesized nanoparticles have primary particle size range of 50-100nm, which aggregates and forms a network of flocks as the reaction proceeds. While the initial growth of the nanoparticles was found to be diffusion controlled, increasing the shear at the interface Was found to affect the final particle size. This illustrates the effect of increased convective mixing on the aggregation and final size of the nanoparticles. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.