Modified Natural Rubber Induced Aqueous to Toluene Phase Transfer of Gold and Platinum Colloids

Abstract

Citrate-stabilized gold and platinum particles were prepared in aqueous phase and transferred to toluene phase by employing 2-propanol as the transfer agent. It was found that the modified natural rubber (ENR) induced the phase transfer and assisted the dispersion of the citrate-free metal particles into the organic phase. The amounts of gold and platinum transferred are 93.4% and 86.1%, respectively. This phase transfer technique produced organosols of smaller particle sizes and narrower size distribution with self-assembly arrangements when compared to those prepared via the previous in situ preparations. The respective average particle size and standard deviation of gold before and after phase transfer were6.3±1.7 nm and7.2±1.3 nm, while for platinum they were4.0±0.7 nm and4.2±0.8 nm. The slight increase in the average sizes and overall size distributions in both metals after transfer was attributed to multiparticle aggregation in the organic phase.