Size-controlled synthesis of Ru nanoparticles by ethylene glycol reduction

Using two different methods, Ru nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical reduction of ruthenium nitrosyl nitrate in ethylene glycol using Poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a stabilizer. In a one-step reaction, the average diameters of Ru nanoparticles were controlled in the range of 1.2–6.5 nm with narrow size distributions by changing the synthesis procedure and reaction conditions. In the seeding growth reaction, the Ru nanoparticle size was also precisely controlled by varying the seeds to Ru3+ ions ratio, ruthenium particles with different sizes (3.8–7.3 nm) were synthesized.