The Use of Size-Exclusion Chromatography for Determining the Sizes of Metal Nanoparticles Synthesized in Reverse Micelles

Abstract

Size-exclusion chromatography has been employed to determine the sizes of palladium and silver nanoparticles synthesized by the radiation-chemical method in micellar solutions of a surfactant (AOT) at different degrees of hydration ω₀ = [H₂O]/[AOT]. Silver and palladium nanoparticle sizes are in the ranges of 1.5–5.3 and 1.5–3 nm. The results obtained have been compared with the data of atomic force microscopy. It has been shown that the sizes of nanoparticles synthesized in micellar solutions must be corrected with allowance for the contribution of micelle shell thickness.