Deposition of dendrimer-stabilised gold particles

Dendrimers can be used as templates for synthesis of monodisperse gold particles, which can then be deposited onto oxide supports metal particles are encapsulated within dendrimers, and the size of the particles can be tuned by varying the metal-to-dendrimer ratio prior to reduction. 

Another type of dendrimer, that has been used to encapsulate Au32 particles is hydroxyl-terminated fifth-generation dendrimers (G5-PAMAM). The particles were adsorbed on silica (0.3wt.% Au),108 and after washing and removal of the dendrimer under oxygen at 573 K, followed by reduction under hydrogen at 573 K, the supported gold particles were even larger than above (14.5 nm), probably because silica is not a support that easily leads to small particles. 

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