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A Mathematical Investigation of the Turkevich Organizer Theory in the Citrate Method for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles

Agunloye, E; Gavriilidis, A; Mazzei, L; (2017) A Mathematical Investigation of the Turkevich Organizer Theory in the Citrate Method for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles. Chemical Engineering Science , 173 pp. 275-286. 10.1016/j.ces.2017.07.032. Green open access

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Abstract

Gold nanoparticles are commonly manufactured by the citrate reduction method, a synthesis method pioneered by Turkevich et al. (1951). Based on their experimental evidence, Turkevich et al. (1951) advanced the organizer theory, a nucleation-growth synthesis mechanism. Subsequently, Kumar et al. (2007) developed a mathematical model for the description of the synthesis, basing it on such a theory. However, this model has not been thoroughly tested. Recently, contrary to the evidence provided by Turkevich et al. (1951), other mechanistic descriptions of the synthesis, which emphasize the role of the pH of the solution, have been advanced in the literature. In this paper, we investigated the model of Kumar et al. (2007) for different conditions of pH, temperature and initial reactant concentrations. To solve the model, we used the numerical code Parsival, which is used for solving population balance equations. We tested the model for different synthesis conditions studied experimentally by various researchers, for which results are available in the literature. The model poorly predicted the experimental data because the Turkevich organizer theory does not account for the acid-base properties of chloroauric acid and sodium citrate. A new model, with a more accurate mechanistic description of the synthesis and of the chemistry involved, is therefore required.

Type: Article
Title: A Mathematical Investigation of the Turkevich Organizer Theory in the Citrate Method for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2017.07.032
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2017.07.032
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Gold nanoparticles, Citrate reduction method, Turkevich organizer theory, Population balance modelling, Parsival
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1570469
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