Abstract
A general approach to the preparation of inorganic nanoparticles is proposed, using metathesis of precursor salts in non-aqueous liquids. Nanoparticles of scheelites AMO4 (A=Ba, Sr, Ca; M=Mo, W), were obtained with a quantitative yield. Precipitations in formamide, N-methylformamide, propylene carbonate, DMSO and polyols often provide narrow particle size distributions. Advantageous morphology was explained by strong ionic association in non-aqueous solvents, leading to slow nucleation and negligible Ostwald ripening. Mean particle size below 10nm and high specific surface areas were obtained for several Ca(Sr)Mo(W)O4 materials, making them promising for applications as adsorbents or catalysts. Zeta-potential of scheelites in aqueous suspensions showed negative values in a wide range of pH. Systematic study of optical properties demonstrated variation of optical gap in the sequences W>Mo and Ba>Sr>Ca. The observed trends were reproduced by DFT calculations. No quantum confinement effect was observed for small particles, though the surface states induce low-energy features in the optical spectra.
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