Amino acid assisted hydrothermal synthesis of In(OH)3 nanoparticles controlled in size and shape

Abstract

Size and shape controlled indium hydroxide (In(OH)3) nanoparticles are readily obtained by amino acid assisted hydrothermal synthesis from an aqueous system. The shape control is achieved by the utilization of adsorption of amino acid on the growing surfaces of the nanoparticles, and rod-and cubic-shaped In(OH)3 nanoparticles are selectively formed in the presence of glycine and L-aspartic acid, respectively. Furthermore, by utilization of two-step aging technique in L-aspartic acid system, originally developed by the gel-sol method, the cubic-shaped In(OH)3) nanoparticles witn narrow size distribution are successfully obtained. © 2009 The Japan Institute of Metals.