New pathway for sonoelectrochemical synthesis of gold–silver alloy nanoparticles from their bulk substrates

In this study, we report the first sonoelectrochemical methods to prepare gold–silver alloy nanoparticles with the mean diameter of 5 nm in 0.1 N HCl aqueous solutions without addition of any stabilizer. First, a silver substrate was roughened by a triangular-wave oxidation–reduction cycle (ORC) in an aqueous containing 0.1 N HCl. Silver-containing complexes were found in the solution after the ORC treatment. Then a gold substrate was subsequently roughened by the similar ORC treatment in the same solution containing the silver complexes. After this procedure Au- and Ag-containing complexes were left in the solution. Then the Au working electrode was immediately replaced by a Pt electrode and a cathodic overpotential of 0.6 V from the open circuit potential (OCP) of ca. 0.75 V vs Ag/AgCl was applied under sonification to synthesize Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles.