NRC-8, EuCheMS International Conference on Nuclear and Radiochemistry

ORAL PRESENTATION - Synthesis of Silica-coated Bimetallic Nanoparticles as Radiotracers

19 Sept 2012, 17:05

15m

Como, Italy

Oral Communications Applications of radioactive tracers and nanoparticles Session 9 - Applications of radiotracers and nanoparticles

Speaker

Dr Sung-Hee Jung (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Korea)

Description

Bimetallic nanoparticles of Au with Ag, Cu, and Ir were synthesized by irradiating aqueous bimetallic ions with gamma radiation that generates hydrated electrons neutralizing the metal ions to a particle form. The bimetallic nanoparticles were coated with SiO2 making them chemically and physically stable when released into the environment and most of industrial processes for hydrodynamic investigation. Their shell and core diameters were recorded by TEM as 100~112 nm and 20~50 nm, respectively. The nanoparticles were then bombarded with neutrons in a research nuclear reactor in order to make them radioactive. The radioactive nanoparticles can play a role of radiotracers in refinery/petrochemical industries as well as in environmental resource hydrodynamic investigation. Radioisotopes are useful due to their same chemical properties as those of stable isotopes and higher detection sensitivity than other types of tracers. Their usefulness has been demonstrated in various experiments in diverse areas including life science, medicine, and engineering. SiO2-coated radioisotope Au core-shell nanoparticles (Au@SiO2 NPs) were first synthesized by sol-gel reactions (the Stöber method) of aqueous Au NPs induced by irradiation without reduction agents. The physical integrity of the SiO2 coated nano shells in high gamma radiation dose environment was confirmed in the previous study. This work reports the synthesis of radioactive silica-coated bimetallic NPs (Au-Ag@SiO2, Au-Co@SiO2, Au-Cu@SiO2, and Au-Ir@SiO2) by the Stöber method followed by neutron irradiation. The resulting particles can be used in natural resource investigations as activable tracers that are to be taken from the environment and activated in a nuclear facility for quantitative estimation of the tracer as a function of time and location.