An Organic Acid-induced Synthesis and Characterization of Selenium Nanoparticles

Abstract

A simple wet chemical method has been developed to synthesize selenium nanoparticles (size 40–100 nm), by the reaction of sodium selenosulphate precursor with different organic acids in aqueous medium, under ambient conditions. Polyvinyl alcohol has been used to stabilize the selenium nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles can be separated from its sol by using a high-speed centrifuge and can be redispersed in aqueous medium with a sonicator. UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-rays, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques have been employed to characterize the synthesized selenium nanoparticles.