Synthesis of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles in a flow of immiscible liquids

Nanoparticles of silver and cadmium selenide are obtained by the method of synthesis in a flow of immiscible liquids (water/toluene, water/dodecane); these nanoparticles manifest, respectively, the effects of plasmon resonance and the spatial confinement of charge carriers. The reactor used is a polytetrafluoroethylene capillary with temperature-controlled sections for particle nucleation and growth with the supply of precursors using micropumps. The diameters of the particles are determined from absorbance spectra and are found to be 40 nm for Ag nanoparticles and 1–2 nm for CdSe nanoparticles (depending on the growth duration).