I. Lisiecki et al., SYNTHESIS OF COPPER NANOSIZE PARTICLES IN ANIONIC REVERSE MICELLES - EFFECT OF THE ADDITION OF A CATIONIC SURFACTANT ON THE SIZE OF THE CRYSTALLITES, Langmuir, 11(7), 1995, pp. 2385-2392
The size of copper nanoparticles in reverse micelles can be controlled
by varying the water content of anionic reverse micelles (AOT = sodiu
m bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate). In the presence of cetyltrimethyla
mmonium chloride (CTAC), depending on the concentration, the size of t
he particles is strongly affected. At a low CTAC concentration ([CTAC]
= 4 x 10(-4) M), an unexpectedly large increase in the size is observ
ed. At the other extreme, a decrease in the size is observed at higher
CTAC concentration ([CTAC] = 6.4 x 10(-3) M). The increase in the siz
e at low CTAC concentration could be explained in terms of the formati
on of superaggregates containing most of the cationic surfactant. At h
igher CTAC concentrations, a random distribution of the positively cha
rged surfactant takes place and the decrease in the size could be due
to a decrease in the intermicellar attraction. Furthermore, the yield
of particles drastically increases which is attributed to a change in
the redox potential.