Direct Synthesis of Nanomaterials: Building Bridges Between Metal Complexes and Nanomaterials

Abstract

Nanochemistry is an emerging new field of chemistry, in particular of solid-state chemistry, which emphasizes the study and development of preparation methods of useful materials with nanometer-size dimensions (1–100nm), as defined by Geoffry Ozin, a pioneer in the field. The direct synthesis of metal complexes and organometallic compounds from zerovalent metals is a known methodology that was well developed during the past 165 years, since the first preparation of Zn(CH2CH3)2 by Frankland from the direct reaction of metallic zinc powder and ethyl iodide. Although comparatively, the dimensions of the simplest and smaller nanoparticles are a thousand times larger than the most common coordination or organometallic compounds, there are several interesting characteristics that may serve as bridges to extrapolate several of the synthetic tools developed around the direct synthesis of metal complexes toward the preparation of inorganic nanomaterials. First of all, the surface of inorganic nanomaterials (metallic, metal oxides, or metal chalcogenides, among several others) is very reactive and unstable, unless a coordinating surfactant is used to coat the surface. It is relatively easy to understand that the surfactant behaves as a coordination ligand and that it may play an important role not only on stabilization, but also on the control of the structure and properties of the resulting nanomaterial. Here, we discuss several bridging concepts among coordination compounds and nanochemistry, and present direct synthesis as a novel and useful synthetic tool for the preparation of several useful and interesting inorganic nanomaterials.