Synthesis of NaX (X = F, Cl, Br, I) Nanoparticles

We report here on the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) of sodium halide (NaX; X = F, Cl, Br, I) salts using reverse micelles (water/dioctylsodiumsulfosuccinate/toluene) with the resulting NPs having diameters of 1.5 to 2.5 nm. The initial core of reverse micelle contains a water-soluble salt. After evaporation of the volatile compounds under vacuum (water and toluene), NaX NPs are produced with an AOT surfactant cap. The NaX NPs redisperse in toluene. In contrast to previous syntheses of soluble salt NPs, Na+ ions from the surfactant are found to completely exchange with the salt in the initial core of the reverse micelles. The resulting NPs were analyzed with dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) which confirmed the exchange mechanism. Experimental results are compared and found to be in agreement with the recently published model by Bandopadhyaya and coworkers.