Routes for the Preparation of Isolated Oxide Nanoparticles

Recent developments in the preparation and use of nanoparticulate oxide materials, more specifically isolated nanoparticles of simple and compound oxides, are reviewed. While oxide nanoparticles have been known and studied for many decades, it is only in recent years that methods for their preparation have achieved the level of sophistication which permits monodisperse nanoparticles to be produced in quantity. In addition, it is only in recent years that the notion of capping of oxide nanoparticle surfaces by long-chain surfactants, with the corollary that they become soluble, has taken firm hold. The emphasis is on new routes for the preparation of oxide nanoparticles, and how these could be distinct from those used for metals or chalcogenides. Properties of oxide nanopartides are discussed with special reference to how they are distinct from the bulk material. Present and possible applications are discussed in context. 

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