Patent ID: 7344583

Claim:
A method of making metal particles, the method comprising: a) providing a dendrimer comprising a core organic material; a first dendron bonded to the core organic material through a first attachment group that is capable of being chemically cleaved, the first dendron having at least two first crosslinkable groups; and a second dendron bonded to the core organic material through a second attachment group that is capable of being chemically cleaved, the second dendron having at least two second crosslinkable groups; b) forming a crosslinked dendrimer by reacting the first crosslinkable groups and the second crosslinkable groups; c) cleaving by a chemical reaction both the first attachment group and the second attachment group; d) removing the core organic material or a derivative thereof from the crosslinked dendrimer to form a cored dendrimer having interior end groups; e) forming a coordinative bond or an ionic bond between a metal-containing precursor and at least one of the interior end groups within a central region of the cored dendrimer, wherein the interior end groups are the only groups of the cored dendrimer that can form coordinative or ionic bonds with the metal-containing precursor; and f) reducing the metal-containing precursor to form a composite particle comprising a metal particle within the central region of the cored dendrimer, wherein the metal particle has an outer surface that is not bonded to the cored dendrimer.