This work presents modelling for the aggregation process of metal nanoparticles following a theory proposed in literature. In this theory, metal atoms aggregate into particles of bigger size due to Van der Waal’s forces of attraction. Then, owing to the electrostatic forces of repulsion, the particles eventually stop aggregating and become stabilized. Based on this mechanistic description, we developed a model for the aggregation process. Because this process often occurs along with other processes, such as growth, we employed as case study the synthesis of gold nanoparticles by the citrate synthesis method for conditions where the aggregation process is decoupled from the growth process. Using this model, we calculated the seed particle sizes and compared them with the values previously reported in literature. Furthermore, we calculated the final particle sizes and compared them with experimental data. The results show excellent agreement.

这项工作遵循文献中提出的理论，对金属纳米颗粒的聚集过程进行了建模。在此理论中，由于范德华力的吸引力，金属原子聚集成更大尺寸的颗粒。然后，由于排斥的静电力，颗粒最终停止聚集并变得稳定。基于这种机制的描述，我们为聚合过程开发了一个模型。由于此过程通常与其他过程（例如生长）同时发生，因此我们以案例研究的形式通过柠檬酸盐合成方法合成了金纳米颗粒，用于条件是聚集过程与生长过程分离。使用该模型，我们计算了种子粒径并将其与文献中先前报道的值进行比较。此外，我们计算了最终粒径并将其与实验数据进行了比较。结果显示出极好的一致性。