Microemulsion-based synthesis of nanocrystalline materials

Abstract

Microemulsion-based synthesis is found to be a versatile route to synthesize a variety of nanomaterials. The manipulation of various components involved in the formation of a microemulsion enables one to synthesize nanomaterials with varied size and shape. In this tutorial review several aspects of microemulsion based synthesis of nanocrystalline materials have been discussed which would be of interest to a cross-section of researchers working on colloids, physical chemistry, nanoscience and materials chemistry. The review focuses on the recent developments in the above area with current understanding on the various factors that control the structure and dynamics of microemulsions which can be effectively used to manipulate the size and shape of nanocrystalline materials.

Morphology-dependent nanocatalysis: metal particles

“…A typical micelle in aqueous solution is called an oil-in-water system, which is an aggregate with the hydrophilic head region in contact with the surrounding solvent, sequestering the hydrophobic single tail region in the micelle center. 71 The micelle that is usually in the nanometre range not only facilitates the reduction of transition metal cations but also provides a strict space as a nonreactor for the nucleation and growth of nanocrystals. a-Co particles (8 nm, Fig.…”

The Electrochemical Assembly of ZnO Nanostructures Through the Modification and Influence of Soft Templates in Reverse Micelle

“…This may not only lead to the change of mass transfer but also result in the versatile behaviours of the soft template. The TEM images of the hierarchical ZnO aggregates under the same current density after the addition of KNO 3 showed a smaller size compared with those morphologies after LiNO 3 added. In Fig.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Emulsions are a good example of soft templates among which reverse micelle or microemulsion-assisted nanostructured materials synthesis is one of the most popular techniques. 8,9 Reverse micelle solutions are homogeneous/isotropic systems which consists of three different phase in thermodynamics equilibrium, namely water droplets stabilized in a continuous oil phase with the assistance of a surrounding monolayer of preferentially aligned surfactants and cosurfactants.…”

Nanoparticles Preparation Using Microemulsion Systems

“…In the absence of such positively charged surfactants, an isotropic growth leads to spheres and nanocubes. Thus the choice of the surfactant becomes critical to the size, shape and stability of the nanoparticles obtained in microemulsion (Ganguli et al, 2010). In a mixed cationic-anionic surfactant solution, such as the synergism, the formation of a worm-like micelle is favored, which directs the growth of the one-dimensional nanostructure (Petit et al, 1993).…”