Synthesis of Metallic and Metal Oxide Particles
The diversity of applications in catalysis, energy storage and medical diagnostics utilizes unique and fascinating properties of metal and metal oxide nanostructures. Confined to the nanometer scale, materials may display properties that are different from the equivalent bulk compounds. To meet the requirements for various applications, numerous production techniques were developed to control particle size, morphology, aggregation state, crystal structure, surface charge and composition. This chapter presents an overview of the preparation of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles by bottom-up and top-down approaches. We describe basic synthetic routes for prominent cases of metals (gold, silver, platinum and copper) and metal oxides (zinc oxide, titania, and silica).