A rapid, high yield size-selective precipitation method for generating Au nanoparticles in organic solvents with tunably monodisperse size distributions and replaceable ligands

Size-selective precipitation (SSP) is a powerful tool for obtaining monodisperse nanoparticles. Here we report a fast, high yield and tunable SSP procedure via non-solvent addition for producing nearly monodisperse, organic-soluble Au nanoparticles with standard deviations as low as σ < 7%. The addition of excess ligands and judicious choice of ligand head group significantly improve both precipitate yields and nanoparticle monodispersity.