Effects of varying ethanol and water concentrations as a gold nanoparticle gel solvent

Striped gold nanoparticles are unique in several of their characteristics and applications. Recent experiments have determined a new medium with which contain the nanoparticles is that of a chemical gel. The nanoparticles for use in these studies do not require a polymer base in order to form a gel phase. However, a concrete analysis of the transition temperature between the gel and liquid phases had yet to be performed. The work performed in this experiment has determined a portion of the phase transition curve for different concentrations of ethanol and water as a solvent in this nanoparticle gel. The results of this project showed that, as expected, with an increased concentration of dissolved gold nanoparticles, the gel to liquid transition temperature increased.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Schaefer, Thomas Gerard

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Francesco Stellacci.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/58072

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/58072