Polymer inclusion membranes as substrates for controlled in-situ gold nanoparticle synthesis

Abstract

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)-based polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) containing the commercial anionic extractant Aliquat 336 and in some cases also 1-dodecanol as plasticizer were used for the fabrication of PIM surface-confined Au nanoparticles (NPs) by reduction of Au(III), extracted into the membranes as the [AuCl4]− complex. The experimental conditions controlling Au NP size and distribution were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The former technique showed unique NP distributions dependent on the reducing agent used while XRD data were found to be consistent with those obtained by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and revealed that the Au cry..