Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Preparation And Characterization Of 3 Nm Magnetic Niau Nanoparticles, Bethany J. Auten, B. P. Hahn, G. Vijayaraghavan, K. J. Stevenson, Bert D. Chandler

Chemistry Faculty Research

Using PAMAM dendrimers as nanoparticle templates, a synthetic route to prepare 3 nm magnetic NiAu nanoparticles was developed. Aqueous solutions of hydroxyl-terminated generation 5 PAMAM dendrimers in 25 mM NaClO₄ were shown to bind aqueous Ni^II. Coreduction of Ni^II and Au^III salts yielded bimetallic dendrimer stabilized nanoparticles, which were extracted into toluene with decanethiol. Characterization of the resulting monolayer protected clusters (MPCs) with transmission electron microscopy and UV–visible, atomic absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies suggested that the MPCs had substantial surface enrichment in Au. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements at 5 K show the …