Colloidal Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles

Synthesis of copper nanoparticles by a colloidal recipe in a two-phase liquid-liquid mixture (toluene/water) was investigated. The synthesis recipe used in this work was originally applied for the fabrication of alkylamine-capped gold nanoparticles. This method involves transferring metal cations from the aqueous layer to the organic one by the phase transfer reagent, tetraoctylammonium bromide, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride in the presence of oleylamine, which was used as the stabilising ligand. Several modifications were made to the original recipe to produce copper nanoparticles with high degrees of purity and stability. Due to the high tendency of copper for oxidation, all of the synthesis experiments were carried out in a glove box under the flow of an inert gas (N2 or Ar). Going through the results and discussion provided in this book, the reader understand the challenges that one may cope with while conducting colloidal nanofabrication of active metals, such as copper. Copper nanoparticles are potentially applicable in various industries and are considered as an alternative for expensive metal nanoparticles, such as gold, silver, and platinum.