Production of aqueous spherical gold nanoparticles using conventional ultrasonic bath

Abstract

A conventional ultrasonic bath was used to examine the feasibility of forming aqueous spherical gold nanoparticles (GNPs) under atmospheric conditions. The effects of ultrasonic energy on the size and morphology of GNPs were also investigated. Highly monodispersed spherical GNPs were successfully synthesised by sodium citrate reduction in a conventional ultrasonic bath, without an additional heater or magnetic stirrer, as evidenced by ultraviolet-visible spectra and transmission electron microscopy. Ultrasonic energy was shown to be a key parameter for producing spherical GNPs of tunable sizes (20 to 50 nm). A proposed scheme for understanding the role of ultrasonic energy in the formation and growth of GNPs was discussed. The simple single-step method using just a conventional ultrasonic bath as demonstrated in this study offers new opportunities in the production of aqueous suspensions of monodispersed spherical GNPs. © 2012 Lee et al.