Polyol Method for Synthesis of Nanomaterials

Polyol method is a widely used synthesis technique for the preparation of large number of inorganic compounds ranging from metal nanoparticles to alloys, oxides, sulphides, tellurides, fluorides, etc. Improved solubility of commonly available starting materials is the prime reason for wide applicability of the method for nanomaterials synthesis. Careful selection of precursors, relative amounts of polyols, ligands, etc., provide wide tune-ability in sizes and physico-chemical properties of synthesised materials. Morphologies such as spheres, nanorods, platelets and flowers can be synthesised by this method. In this chapter, initially different types of polyols and their physico-chemical properties are discussed briefly. This is followed by the details of synthesis of metals, alloys, oxides, sulphides, selenides, tellurides and fluorides in nano-size dimensions. Finally, the chapter ends with future scope and challenges in this method of synthesis.