Synthesis and characterization of nano-sized gold-palladium bimetallic particles dispersed in polymer thin film matrix

We have prepared nano-sized Au/Pd bimetallic particles with various composi tions dispersed in nylon 11 thin films by thermal relaxation technique. The films obtained were characterized by TEM, EDX, XPS and visible absorption spectroscopy. The Au/Pd molar ratio in the bimetallic particles could be va ried over the entire composition range by controlling the initial depositio n amount of constituent metals. It was found that the mean size of the disp ersed particles decreased from 5.3 to 3.2 nm in diameter with increasing th e Pd content in the bimetallic particles. Optical absorption due to surface plasmon resonance absorption of the Au particles decreased with decreasing the Au/Pd ratio, which can be caused by the changes in the band structure of the Au particles due to alloying with Pd. (C) 1999 Acta Metallurgica Inc .