Photochemical synthesis of gold–polyethylenglycol core–shell nanoparticles

A new, fast and convenient method for the preparation of gold–polyethylenglycol core–shell nanoparticles in water was described. The method pertains to the concomitant redox and polymerization reactions of the acrylic formulation induced by photochemically generated radicals from the photoinitiator, 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-1-propanone. The nanoparticles were characterized by using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Homogenous core–shell structured nanoparticles obtained this way are expected to find important applications in bio-medical fields.