DESCRIPTION:

This disclosure describes a new method to synthesize water-soluble gold and gold-platinum nanoparticles based on a combination of reducing agents, capping agents, and platinum-catalyzed reduction reaction.  This new approach is demonstrated to be highly effective for the preparation of gold and gold-platinum nanoparticles with controllable composition and sizes. 

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:

Companies that are potentially interested in this technology include those from catalysts, fuel cell catalysts, and chemical sensor/biosensor industries.

ADVANTAGES:

The size and composition of the water-soluble gold-platinum alloy nanoparticles can be controlled by controlling the synthetic feed ratios and metal precursor concentrations, which is expected to find applications in catalysts, fuel cell catalysts, biomolecule detection, and chemical sensor/ biosensors.

DISADVANTAGES:

None

PATENT STATUS:

Patent strategy is being evaluated