Effect of Surfactant Concentration and Aggregation
on the Growth Kinetics of Nickel Nanoparticles
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Abstract
The
effect of trioctylphosphine (TOP) concentration on the growth of nickel
nanoparticles is studied using <i>in situ</i> synchrotron
small-angle X-ray scattering. The growth kinetics are fitted using
a two-step nucleation and autocatalytic growth model. TOP acts as
a nucleating agent and then acts as an inhibitor against rapid particle
growth. Increasing the TOP concentration results in smaller nanoparticles.
Once there is a critical concentration of nickel particles above a
certain size, they start to aggregate. This results in a broadening
of the particle size distribution at later times due to particles
on the outside of the aggregates continuing to grow, while those on
the inside cease to grow as the nickel precursor is locally depleted