Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

Plasma discharges of different configurations have attracted a lot of attention due to their various applications. In particular, plasma jet in contact with a liquid is a simple and cheap technique for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Its main advantage is the variety of species present in the plasma plume which can induce rapid chemical reactions in the solution. Gold nanoparticles have been the focus of many researchers because of their unique physical, optical and chemical properties. They are used in various fields and their characteristic properties depend on their size and morphology. In this work, the synthesis of gold nanoparticles was investigated by reducing HAuCl 4 in the presence of PVP as a capping agent using a Helium atmospheric pressure plasma jet. The formation of AuNPs was firstly confirmed by UV-vis spectra. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of the AuNPs results in a strong optical absorption in the 520-550 nm visible range. The size of the obtained nanoparticles was measured by DLS and their shape was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM images show that AuNPs of different shapes (e.g. triangle, hexagon, rods, and spherical) were synthesized. The effects of different parameters such as the plasma discharge duration, the precursor and the capping agent concentration on the size and shape of these nanoparticles were studied.