Effect of Cu2+/Al3+ mole ratio on structure of Cu – Al bimetallic nanoparticles prepared by radiation induced method

Abstract

Abstract Cu–Al bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized by gamma irradiation technique in aqueous solutions containing metal chlorides as precursors, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a capping agent, isopropanol as a radical scavenger, and distilled water as a solvent. The Cu–Al bimetallic nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible absorption spectrometry, powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The TEM, XRD, EDX, and absorption analyses confirmed the formation of core-shell structure of Cu–Al bimetallic nanoparticles at lower Cu2+/Al3+ mole ratio, and the formation of Cu–Al alloy nanoparticles at higher Cu2+/Al3+ mole ratio. The TEM analysis for particle size and size distribution revealed that the average particle size of Cu–Al bimetallic nanoparticles decreased with the increase of absorbed dose. It may be explained due to the competition between nucleation and aggregation processes in the formation of metallic nanoparticles under irradiation.