Metal and alloy nanoparticles have found a wide range of applications, but the ability to control the size, composition and shape remains challenging, especially multimetallic nanoparticles.   This research focuses on a systematic study of the control parameters for the synthesis of ternary PtNiCo nanoparticles in a one-step synthesis procedure.  Key control parameters include the concentration of each metal precursor in the reaction mixture  and their relative ratios.  The nanoparticles are analyzed using Transmission Electron Microscopy, High-angle annular dark-field scanning TEM, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass – AES Spectroscopy, and high-energy XRD.  The results show that for size and shape of the resulting PtNiCo nanoparticles depend on the concentration. At low concentrations, the nanoparticles feature cubic shapes. At high concentrations, the nanoparticles feature spherical.  The morphology, size and alloy properties were also found to depend on the concentrations in controllable ways.  A detailed delineation of these control parameters in determining the nanoscale size, shape, and composition will be discussed, which has significant implications to the design of preparation of nanocatalysts and nanoprobes.

Synthesis and characterization of PtNiCo nanoparticles with controllable size, shape, and composition

251st National Meeting (2016)

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