Optical Properties of Linoleic Acid Protected Gold Nanoparticles

Linoleic acid-protected gold nanoparticles have been synthesized through the chemical reduction of tetrachloroaurate ions by ethanol in presence of sodium linoleate. The structure of these nanoparticles is investigated using transmission electron microscopy, which shows that the Au nanoparticles are spherical in shape with a narrow size distribution which ranges from 8 to 15 nm. Colloidal dispersion of gold nanoparticles in cyclohexane exhibits absorption bands in the ultraviolet-visible range due to surface plasmon resonance, with absorption maximum at 530 nm. Fluorescence spectra of gold nanoparticles also show an emission peak at 610 nm when illuminated at 450 nm. UV-Vis spectroscopy reveals that these nanoparticles remain stable for 10 days.