New investigation in PVP-mediated synthesis of noble metallic nanomaterials.

As one of the most heavily used starting materials in metallic nanostructure syntheses, PVP has made a series of revolutionary successes. However, the true role of PVP still has not been fully understood. Herein, designed reactions and NMR analyses have been done to prove the redox reaction in PVP-mediated synthesis of metallic nanomaterials. As metal ions are reduced, alpha-pyrrolidone rings of PVP are partially oxidized and form poly(vinyl(pyrrolidone)x-(succinimide)y), which has a crucial surface modification capability for nanocrystals. This new finding provides insight into how PVP manipulates the structures and morphologies by modifying the reaction rate and stabilizing the nanocrystals.