Size control of metal nanoparticles is essential to achieve accurate adjustment of their unique chemical and physical properties. In this work, we present a novel approach for the continuous synthesis of silver nanoparticles with tuneable sizes between 5–10 nm and narrow size distribution (<20%) in the absence of steric capping ligands via a seed-mediated method. For this, two flow reactors are connected in series where rapid changes in the chemical environment enable the spatial and temporal separation of the nucleation and growth stages. A novel coiled flow inverter reactor configuration was developed to provide substantial cross sectional Dean mixing, substantially narrowing the residence time distribution under laminar flow. We also demonstrate that careful control of the nature of the reducing agents in each step is essential to avoid secondary nucleation and ensure narrow size distributions. This innovative new capability will not only provide fundamental understanding of the effect of the size of nanoparticles in a number of applications but also enable the deployment of large-scale well-defined nanoparticles for commercial uses.

中文翻译：

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通过串联种子介导的方法在旋流逆变器反应器中 连续合成可调节尺寸的银纳米颗粒

金属纳米粒子的尺寸控制对于实现精确调整其独特的化学和物理特性至关重要。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种新颖的方法，用于在不存在空间封端配体的情况下，连续合成具有5-10 nm之间可调节大小和窄尺寸分布（<20％）的银纳米颗粒。种子介导的方法。为此，两个流动反应器串联连接，其中化学环境的快速变化使得成核和生长阶段的空间和时间分离成为可能。开发了一种新颖的螺旋流逆变器反应器配置，以提供基本的横截面迪安混合，从而显着缩小了层流下的停留时间分布。我们还证明，在每个步骤中仔细控制还原剂的性质对于避免二次成核并确保窄的尺寸分布至关重要。这种创新的新功能不仅可以提供对纳米颗粒尺寸在许多应用中的影响的基本了解，而且还可以将大规模定义明确的纳米颗粒用于商业用途。