Micro-continuous flow synthesis of gold nanoparticles and integrated deposition on suspended sheets of graphene oxide

• Gold nanoparticles synthesis and deposition on a graphene oxide sheet in microflow reactor was investigated.
• Size and size distribution can be controlled by the flow rate.
• Application of strong reductant (DMAB) leads to the formation of very small nanoparticles of size about 3 nm.
• Graphene oxide sheets plays an important role as a stabilizing agent for gold nanoparticles.

A single step synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their deposition on a graphene oxide (GO) sheets in a microflow reactor was investigated. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction in aqueous solution using dimethylamina borane (DMAB) as reductant. The influence of pH, initial concentration of gold(III) salt and flow rate was studied. The results demonstrate that microflow reactor is suitable for a single step synthesis and deposition of AuNPs. Size and size distribution depends on the flow rate and pH of the solution.