Preparation of gold nanoparticles in the presence of citric acid-based dendrimers containing periphery hydroxyl groups

In this work, Au nanoparticles were produced with reduction of HAuCl4 using NaBH4 in the presence of different generations of citric acid-based dendrimers. The greater water solubility of the newly prepared dendrimers motivated us for the preparation of Au nanoparticles in water media. Therefore, the stable, isolated and uniform type Au nanoparticles were prepared through simple process in water. UV–Vis absorption, high-resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM), electron diffraction (ED) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) methods were used to investigate the morphology and structure determination of the obtained gold nanoparticles.

► The most advantage of citric acid-based dendrimers is their novelty from monomeric point of view and their simple preparation method.
► The size and also size distribution of Au nanoparticles can be controlled through the choice of the dendrimer generation.
► Here, we report the preparation of the stable, isolated and uniform Au nanoparticles with using a simple method in water media.
► It was observed that the size of Au nanoparticles is increased with increasing the generation of dendrimer.