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Copyright 2011 American Scientic Publishers
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Journal of
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Vol. 11, 64296432, 2011
Effect of Synthetic Temperature on the
Dispersion Stability of Gold Nanocolloid
Produced via Electrical Explosion of Wire
G. S. Yun
1
, L. H. Bac
1
, J. S. Kim
1
, Y. S. Kwon
1
, H. S. Choi
2
, and J. C. Kim
1
1
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ulsan, Daehak-ro 102, Nam-gu, Ulsan 680-749, South Korea
2
School of Biological Sciences, University of Ulsan, Daehak-ro 102, Nam-gu, Ulsan 680-749, South Korea
In this study, gold nanocolloid was produced via the electrical explosion of wire in water, for the
purpose of medical treatment. Thus, the use of other additives was avoided to stabilize the gold
nanocolloid. The temperature of the water that was to be used for explosion was changed, and
its effect on the stability of the gold nanocolloid was investigated. The synthetic temperature was
varied from ice temperature to 80

C. The morphology and particle size were studied using a trans-
mission electron microscope. The UV-Vis spectra conrmed the formation of gold nanoparticles in
the water. The stability of the gold nanocolloid was estimated using the zeta-potential and Turbis-
can methods. The results showed that the synthetic temperature affected the stability of the gold
nanocolloid. The TEM images of the gold nanoparticles prepared at low temperatures (0 and 20

C)
have several big particles. But, when the synthetic temperature was increased to 80

C, most of
the nanoparticles formed a spherical shape, without neck connection. Better stability was obtained
in the gold nanocolloid sample prepared at a higher temperature. The gold nanocolloid that was
synthesized at 80

C was stable for more than three months, with small sedimentation.
Keywords: Electrical Explosion of Wire (EEW), Gold Nanocolloid, Turbiscan, Stability.
1. INTRODUCTION
Gold nanocolloids have attracted much attention of late
due to their potential applications in various elds, such
as in catalysis, sensors, biology, and medicine.
14
They
present fascinating aspects, such as their assembly of mul-
tiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the
individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic, and
optical properties (quantum size effect), and their appli-
cations to catalysis and biology.
5
In these applications,
the stability of the nanocolloids is one of the important
parameters. The main approach for obtaining higher stabil-
ity is through chemical surface treatment using surfactants
and/or dispersants. The absorbance of these agents on the
gold nanoparticles surfaces can keep the nanocolloids sta-
ble and will allow them to be used as sensors, catalysts,
etc. Nevertheless, the surfactants and/or dispersants will
be destroyed or will produce bad effects on the cells or
on a living body. Therefore, it is important to synthesize
a stable nanocolloidal gold without impurities like surfac-
tants or dispersants. In addition, there has been increased
emphasis on the development and use of green synthesis

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

methods, aiming at the total elimination or at the very least
the minimization of hazardous waste and toxic chemicals.
Electric explosion of wire (EEW) is a top-down phys-
ical method for fabricating nanostructure materials.
6
The
products of wire explosion depend on the current density,
wire dimension, and medium in which the explosion is car-
ried out. Electrical explosion of wire in gas has been used
for preparing various metal and ceramic nanopowders.
710
Electrical explosion of wire in liquid is useful for the
preparation of nanocolloids. In this process, the nanoparti-
cles directly disperse into the liquid, and it can be regarded
as a one-step technique, that can minimize the aggregation
of the nanoparticles and therefore increase the stability of
the nanocolloids.
In this study, the preparation of gold nanocolloid in
deionized (DI) water and was focused on the effect of the
synthetic temperature on the dispersion properties of the
nanocolloid was investigated. A green method of preparing
nanocolloid using non-toxic chemicals was also introduced.
2. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
A thin gold wire with a 0.2 mm diameter was used as a
starting material for the explosion process. The experiment
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2011, Vol. 11, No. 7 1533-4880/2011/11/6429/004 doi:10.1166/jnn.2011.4394 6429
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Effect of Synthetic Temperature on the Dispersion Stability of Gold Nanocolloid Produced via EEW Yun et al.
Table I. Summary of the experimental details.
Capacitance (F) 30
Charging voltage (V) 3.0
Material Au
Wire diameter (mm) 0.2
Length of each explosion (mm) 27
Ambient liquid Water
details have been described elsewhere.
11
Briey, gold wire
was submerged in water, and a pulsed high-density cur-
rent from a 3-kV-charged capacitor was injected into it
by closing the spark gap. As the resistance of water is
much smaller than that of gold, the electrical energy was
deposited only onto the gold wire. The gold wire was
melted, evaporated due to Joule heating and then turned
into plasma. Gold nanoparticles were formed in the liquid
after the vapor was cooled and condensed by the ambient
water. The experiment parameters are shown in Table I.
After 25-time explosion, the suspension was collected for
analysis.
The morphologies and the sizes of the prepared gold
nanoparticles were observed via transmission electron
microscopy (TEM). A drop of gold suspension was
dropped onto a carbon-coated copper grid, was ow-dried
under vacuum at room temperature, and was then placed
in an electron-microscopic chamber for observation. The
absorption spectrum of the gold nanocolloid was investi-
gated through the UV-Vis method within the wavelength
range of 300800 nm. The dispersion stability was esti-
mated using a Turbiscan Lab (Formulaction Co., France)
instrument, based on the multiple light-scattering method;
it detected the concentration variation in the nanocolloid
by scanning the whole height of the sample in transmis-
sion and backscattering. The zeta potential of the gold
nanocolloid was measured using a zeta potential analyzer
(ELS-Z, Japan). At least ten different runs were carried
out to obtain the average zeta potential value.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Gold nanocolloid was prepared in water via electrical
explosion of wire in DI water. The formation of gold
nanoparticles in the aqueous colloidal solution was con-
rmed through UV-Vis spectra analysis. Figure 1 shows
the absorption UV-Vis spectra of the gold nanocolloids
prepared in water at different temperatures. It can be seen
in the gure that there was an absorption peak in all
the samples that were prepared. The spectra exhibited the
characteristics of a surface plasmon band at 530 nm,
which was reported in many papers.
1215
The absorption
spectra were essentially the same in all the samples. The
plasmon absorption wavelengths of all the gold nanocol-
loidal solutions are listed in Table II. It is well known that
the plasmon band maximum and its bandwidth of metallic
nanoparticles depend on the particle size, shape, and sol-
vent media. It can be seen in Figure 1 that the absorption
Fig. 1. UV-Vis absorption plasmon spectra of the gold nanocolloidal
solutions synthesized at different temperatures: (a) 0

C; (b) 20

C;
(c) 40

C; (d) 60

C; and (e) 80

C.
spectra of all the prepared samples were similar. The wave-
length band positions and the bandwidths did not clearly
change clearly (shown in Table II). These behaviors can
be explained in two ways. First, as the samples were pre-
pared using the same solvent (DI water), the effect of the
ambient media can be neglected. Second, although the par-
ticle sizes of the gold nanoparticles prepared at different
temperatures were not the same (seen in the TEM images
in Fig. 2), the particles that were prepared at low tem-
peratures seem smaller than those that were prepared at
high temperatures. The particles connected, however, and
formed a chain and cluster of nanoparticles, which resulted
in a bigger average size.
Figure 2 shows the TEM images of the gold nanopar-
ticles prepared at different synthetic temperatures. The
nanocolloids that were prepared at low temperatures (0 and
20

C) have several big particles, with sizes of about
40 nm. The big particles had spherical shapes, and were
separated, while the small nanoparticles seemed to have
connected and formed a chain across the particles. There
were less small particles in the samples that were pre-
pared at higher temperature, but the particles nonetheless
became more spherical. When the synthetic temperature
was increased to 80

C, most of the nanoparticles formed
a spherical shape without neck connection. There were big
Table II. Plasmon absorption wavelengths and zeta potentials of the
gold nanocolloids formed at different synthetic temperatures.
Plasmon absorption Zeta-potential
Temperature (

C) wavelength (nm) FWHM (mV)

0 534 6775 62
20 532 7456 81
40 530 7277 223
60 529 7359 281
80 529 7130 315
6430 J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 11, 64296432, 2011
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Yun et al. Effect of Synthetic Temperature on the Dispersion Stability of Gold Nanocolloid Produced via EEW
(a)
(d) (e)
(b) (c)
Fig. 2. TEM images of the nanoparticles prepared at different temperatures: (a) 0

C; (b) 20

C; (c) 40

C; (d) 60

C; and (e) 80

C.
particles in samples that were prepared at higher tempera-
tures. The difference in particle size and shape may be due
to the cooling rate of the vapor. After explosion, the vapor-
ized gold material collided with the water molecules and
cooled down after which it condensed to form nanoparti-
cles. The cooling rates of the vapor at different synthetic
temperatures were not equal. The cooling rate was higher
when the temperature of the surrounding liquid was lower.
The high cooling speed of the vapor for condensing the
particles could have created smaller particles at lower syn-
thetic temperatures.
To understand the stability of gold nanocolloids in the
absence of surfactants, their zeta potentials were measured.
A zeta potential value will make a repulsion force and
will keep the gold nanoparticles away from one another,
which will result in the high stability of the nanocolloids.
Table II shows the zeta potentials of the gold nanocolloids
that were prepared via EEW in water, at different syn-
thetic temperatures. All the gold nanocolloids were nega-
tively charged, with zeta potential values within the range
of 62 to 315 mV. It was found that the absolute zeta
potential value increases with increasing synthetic temper-
ature, and reaches the highest value of 315 mV. Based
on the zeta potential values, the nanocolloids that were
prepared at 80

C had the best stability among all the gold
nanocolloids. Their zeta potentials remained at 302 mV
after three months, slightly smaller than that of the as-
synthesized sample. This result is in agreement with the
result of the Turbiscan measurement, which will be pre-
sented later. The negative values of the gold nanoparticles
reveal that the nanoparticles were negatively charged in
water. As no surfactants were used in these nanocolloids,
the surfaces of the gold nanoparticles are attributed to the
oxygen chemisorptions.
16 17
Electrons were injected into
the gold nanoparticles during the explosion, causing nega-
tively charged surfaces. These charged surfaces were satu-
rated by atomic oxygen, which can create hydrogen bonds
with water particles in a water medium.
18
As the oxygen
chemisorption on a gold surface at a higher temperature
can be greater than that at a lower temperature, the zeta
potential of the charged surface is thus greater.
Figure 3 presents the typical transmission (T) and
backscattering (BS) intensities as a function of sample
height and time in the case of the gold nanocolloid
prepared at 80

C in three days. In this case, the BS
Fig. 3. Typical transmission and backscattering proles of the gold
nanocolloid produced at 80

C.
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 11, 64296432, 2011 6431
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Effect of Synthetic Temperature on the Dispersion Stability of Gold Nanocolloid Produced via EEW Yun et al.
Fig. 4. Variation of transmission signal (T ) versus time for the gold
nanocolloids produced via electrical explosion of wire in water at differ-
ent temperatures.
intensities almost did not change while the T intensities
decreased as a function of time. The rst important obser-
vation is that the BS and T signals were constant over the
sample length. The T and BS curves were at. The per-
centage of light going across the sample decreased over
time. The decrease was small, however, only 0.25% in
three days. Figure 4 compares the variation of the T signal
as a function of time for the ve samples prepared at dif-
ferent temperatures. This gure indicates that the variation
of the T signal depends much on the synthetic tempera-
ture. In all the cases, the T variation increased as a func-
tion of time, but the speeds of change were different. The
T variation of the samples that were prepared at higher
temperatures increased more slowly than that of the sam-
ples that were prepared at lower temperatures. In two sam-
ples that were prepared at 0 and 20

C, respectively, the
variation rose fast for less than 10 h and then became to
constant. This means that the gold nanoparticles settled,
indicating that the colloid was unstable. The gold nanopar-
ticles agglomerated into big clusters that can be seen by
the naked eyes. These clusters then rapidly settled at the
bottom of the bottle, which made the transmission sig-
nal go up, eventually reaching a constant value due only
to water. The fast agglomeration can be attributed to the
fact that gold nanouids have small zeta potential at a
low synthetic temperature. The zeta potential values were
only 62 and 81 mV at the synthetic temperatures of
0 and 20

C, respectively. They were not high enough to
create force strong enough to repulse one another and to
keep the nanoparticles far away from one another. The sta-
bility of the gold nanocolloid was much better at a high
synthetic temperature. It can be clearly seen in Figure 4
that the T variation of the gold nanocolloid that was
prepared at 80

C synthetic temperature is much smaller
compared to that of the gold nanocolloids prepared at
other temperatures. The high zeta potential of the gold
nanocolloid prepared at 80

C created repulsive electro-
static forces between the nanoparticles and protected them
against agglomeration and sedimentation in the water. The
gold nanocolloids were stable for more than three months,
without noticeable aggregation.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The effect of the liquid temperature on the dispersion sta-
bility of gold nanocolloids produced via electrical explo-
sion of wire in water was studied. The dispersion stability
was found to depend much on the synthetic temperature.
The gold nanocolloid is more stable at a high synthetic
temperature. The results of the study show that without
surfactants, the gold nanocolloids prepared at 80

C can
be stable up to more than three months. This stability can
be attributed to the highly negative charge of the gold
nanoparticles. It is believe that this method is the most
simple, effective, and green way of preparing stable gold
nanocolloids.
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Received: 27 August 2010. Accepted: 28 January 2011.
6432 J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 11, 64296432, 2011