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One-pot high-yield synthesis of single-crystalline gold nanorods using glycerol as a low-cost and eco-friendly reducing agent

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Abstract

The formation of gold nanorods (AuNRs) has recently attracted great attention due to their shape-dependent optical properties that are important for many applications. The development of simpler and safer methods for the high-yield synthesis of AuNRs employing low-cost and easily handled reagents is thus of great importance. Here, we introduce, for the first time, a one-pot seedless method for the preparation of single-crystalline AuNRs in almost 100 % yield based on the use of glycerol in alkaline medium as an eco-friendly, low-cost and pH-tunable reducing agent. The synthesized AuNRs were characterized by UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy, FEG–SEM and HRTEM. The effect of the presence of capping agent (CTAB) and the concentration of reactants (glycerol, NaOH and AgNO3) on the yield and aspect ratio (AR) of AuNRs is discussed. The AR and yield of AuNRs showed a clear dependence on the pH and temperature of the reaction mixture as well as on the concentration of AgNO3 added as an auxiliary reagent. The longitudinal plasmon resonance band of the resulting AuNRs can be tuned between 620 and 1200 nm by varying the reaction conditions. AuNRs with an aspect ratio (AR) of around 4 were obtained in almost 100 % yield at room temperature and under mild reducing environment. The formation of AuNRs is faster at higher pH (>11) and higher temperature (>30 °C), but the AuNR yield is smaller (<70 %). Variation in the pH of the reaction mixture in the range 12–13.5 results in the formation of AuNRs with different ARs and in different yields (27–99 %). Detailed study of the AuNRs crystallography by HRTEM showed that the AuNRs grow in [001] direction and have a perfect single-crystalline fcc structure, free from structural faults or dislocations. The present green method, which introduces glycerol as a tunable reducing agent with a pH-dependent reducing power, can provide a more general strategy for the preparation of a wide range of metallic nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgments

R. Parveen and S. Ullah are thankful to The World Academy of Science (TWAS, Italy) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for PhD fellowship. J.F. Gomes thanks FAPESP for the postdoctoral fellowship (Process Number: 2009/08511-9). The authors also thank Professor Andre Avelino Pasa and Cristiani Campos Plá Cid at UFSC, SC, Brazil, for HRTEM analysis and Teko Wilhelmin Napporn for his guidance and assistance in the initial stages of this work.

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The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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  1. Janaina F. Gomes

    Present address: Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luiz, km 235, São Carlos, SP, 13565-905, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, P. O. Box 780, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil

    Rashida Parveen, Janaina F. Gomes, Sajjad Ullah & Germano Tremiliosi-Filho

  2. Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, KP, 25120, Pakistan

    Sajjad Ullah

  3. Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Paulo, Brazil

    José J. S. Acuña

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  1. Rashida Parveen
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Correspondence to Germano Tremiliosi-Filho.

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Parveen, R., Gomes, J.F., Ullah, S. et al. One-pot high-yield synthesis of single-crystalline gold nanorods using glycerol as a low-cost and eco-friendly reducing agent. J Nanopart Res 17, 418 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-015-3223-y

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