Growth of Sub-5 nm Metal Nanoclusters in Polymer Melt Aerosol Droplets.

Abstract

Ultrasmall metal nanoparticles are inherently unstable because of their high specific surface area. This work investigates how growth and aggregation of these nanostructures can be circumvented by incorporating them into a polymer matrix in an on-the-fly growth process. We demonstrate the formation of sub-5 nm particles of Ni, Co, and Cu nanoparticles in a polymer matrix using an aerosol single-drop reactor approach. The rapid thermal pulse given to the aerosol particles enables the formation of nuclei and growth, with subsequent rapid quenching to freeze in the structure. The role of the temperature as well as the precursor concentration of the resulting size and morphology is discussed. A characteristic time analysis and an analysis of the particle size distributions lead to the conclusion that growth is governed by nucleation and surface growth, with little coagulation or Ostwald ripening. Finally, we note that this aerosol route is amenable to scale-up for large-scale production of nanoclusters that can either be used as is within the polymer or released by solvent extraction, depending on the application.