Metal redox processes for the controlled synthesis of metal alloy nanoparticles.

Nanocrystalline metals have received widespread interest and found various applications owing to their magnetic and catalytic properties and in energy-related fields. A flexible approach for the growth of nanoalloys with controlled properties and well-defined structures on the atomic scale is thus greatly desired. A new synthetic method that avoids incompatible reduction potentials and rates would be critical to grow metal nanostructures with high purities and the desired stoichiometries. A metal-redox strategy that employs spontaneous oxidation/reduction reactions to grow nanocrystalline alloys using molecular-scale zerovalent metal precursors is now described. The selection of suitable zerovalent metal species allows for thermodynamic control of the compositional stoichiometry during the temperature-dependent formation of the metal alloy nanoparticles. A practical and scalable strategy for nanoalloy growth that can potentially produce key metal components of superior metallurgical quality for catalytic and magnetic systems has thus been developed.