Shape control technology during electrochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes were prepared by adding gold precursor (HAuCl₄) to an electrolyzed aqueous solution of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and KNO₃, which indicates the good reducing capacity of the PVP-containing solution after being treated by electrolysis. Using a catholyte and an anolyte as the reducing agents for HAuCl₄, respectively, most gold nanoparticles were spherical particles in the former case but plate-like particles in the latter case. The change in the pH value of electrolytes caused by the electrolysis of water would be the origin of the differences in shape and morphology of gold nanoparticles. A hypothesis of the H⁺ or OH⁻ catalyzed PVP degradation mechanism was proposed to interpret why the pH value played a key role in determining the shape or morphology of gold nanoparticles. These experiments open up a new method for effectively controlling the shape and morphology of metal nanoparticles by using electrochemical methods.