Isotope effect in heavy/light water suspensions of optically active gold nanoparticles

• Published in: Applied nanoscience 2019-07, Vol.9 (5), p.957-963
• Main Authors: Kutsenko, V. Y., Artykulnyi, O. P., Petrenko, V. I., Avdeev, M. V., Marchenko, O. A., Bulavin, L. A., Snegir, S. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aminopropyltriethoxysilane; Chemistry and Materials Science; Deuteration; Gold; Isotope effect; Light water; Materials Science; Membrane Biology; Metal particles; Microscopy; Nanochemistry; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Neutron scattering; Optical activity; Optical properties; Original Article; Particle physics; Reflectometry; Sodium citrate; Transmission electron microscopy; Water chemistry
• ISSN: 2190-5509; 2190-5517
• DOI: 10.1007/s13204-018-0792-y

Aqueous suspensions of optically active gold nanoparticles coated with trisodium citrate were synthesized in light (H 2 O) water and mixture of light and heavy (H 2 O/D 2 O) water using the modified Turkevich protocol. The objective of the paper was to verify  sensitivity of neutron scattering methods (in particular, neutron reflectometry) to the potential isotope H/D substitution in the stabilizing organic shell around particles in colloidal solutions. First, the isotope effect was studied with respect to the changes in the structural properties of metal particles (size, shape, crystalline morphology) in solutions by electron microscopy including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy from dried systems. The structural factors determining the variation in the adsorption spectra in addition to the change in the optical properties of surrounding medium were discussed. Then, neutron reflectometry was applied to the layered nanoparticles anchored on a silicon wafer via 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane molecules to reveal the presence of deuterated water molecules in the shell presumably formed by citrate molecules around the metallic core.