The Synthesis And Characterization Of Metal Nanoparticles Using The Sol-Gel Epoxide-Addition Method With The Aid Of Amide Structural Directing Agents In Tuning Morphological Features

This research is focused on the synthesis of metal-containing nanoparticle materials using a form of sol-gel chemistry that utilizes the traditional formation of a colloid (sol) solution but differs in the addition of an epoxide to aid in gelation. This simple, one-pot synthesis method is effective in the formation of copper oxide, iron oxide, and group VI (Mo, W) nitride and sulfide particles synthesized with the goal of tuning the particle size and surface area using amides that include N,N-dimethylformamide (copper oxide, iron oxide), urea, (group VI nitride) and thiourea (group VI sulfide) and carbon sources, such as polyacrylic acid (nitride and sulfides) and various 1,2-epoxides, as structure templating agents. In this work, an intact structural network was maintained by drying sol-gels using supercritical drying techniques to generate low-density, high-surface area aerogel materials. The aerogel is then annealed to obtain a metal nanoparticle material (eg. CuO, Fe2O3, MoN, W0.75N, MoS2, and WS2). The nanomaterial generated using this method allows for changes in size and morphology. Other methods have been developed with this same intention but often require costly metal reagents, high pressures, high temperatures, and an inert atmosphere to obtain a pure product. However, sol-gel chemistry is simple, cost effective, and offers the potential to easily fine-tune the physical and chemical properties of these materials. The ability to fine-tune this material of this class is of significance when the range of applications which utilize nanomaterials is continuing to expand.