Copper and nickel nanoparticles: synthesis by electrochemical discharges

The unique optical, electronic, chemical and biological properties of metal nanoparticles have stimulated a large research activity into manufacturing methods of these nano-structures. An example of copper and nickel nanoparticle synthesis using electrochemical discharges in aqueous solutions is described. This low-cost template technique is a facile procedure to fabricate large quantities of metallic nano-sized particles. The resulting particles are characterized using an electrochemical method (cyclic voltammetry), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).