Patent ID: 8075664
Filing Date: 2011-12-13
Classification: B01J,B22F,B82Y

Abstract:
1. A method for making metal nanoshells, the method comprising: forming an emulsion comprising lipoporphyrin-stabilized nanodroplets, wherein the emulsion comprises a photocatalytic lipoporphyrin, water, and an organic liquid wherein a concentration of the organic liquid is less than or equal to approximately an order of magnitude greater than a solubility limit of the organic liquid in water and wherein a solubility of the photocatalytic lipoporphyrin in water and a solubility of the photocatalytic lipoporphyrin in the organic liquid are sufficient to position the photocatalytic lipoporphyrin at a water/organic liquid interface of the lipoporphyrin-stabilized nanodroplets; adding a seed metal ion and an electron donor species to the emulsion; illuminating the emulsion with light of a wavelength that causes electronic excitation of the photocatalytic lipoporphyrin to form an excited photocatalytic lipoporphyrin; reacting the excited photocatalytic lipoporphyrin with the electron donor species to form a reduced photocatalytic lipoporphyrin reducing the seed metal ion by reaction with the reduced photocatalytic lipoporphyrin to form a seed metal nanoparticle at the water/organic liquid interface; adding a shell metal ion to the emulsion; and reducing the shell metal ion catalytically using the seed metal nanoparticle to form a metallic nanoshell.