Sonochemistry and Other Novel Methods Developed for the Synthesis of Nanoparticles

In this chapter the three synthetic methods that have been developed for the fabrication of nanomaterials in our laboratory will be described. The techniques are sonochemistry, sonoelectrochemistry, and microwave heating. In each category a short introduction to the technique will be presented in which an attempt will be made to interpret why the products produced by this method yield small size particles. In addition, we will report on the various nanosized particles that have been prepared by these methods, and other activities in these three fields related to nanochemistry. It should be mentioned that in 1996 [1a] Suslick and coworkers published an early review on the nanostructured materials generated by ultrasound radiation. Suslick and Price [1b] have also reviewed the application of ultrasound to materials science. Their review [1b] dealt with nanomaterials, but was not directed specifically to this topic. However, the review concentrated only on the sonochemistry of transition metal carbonyls, and catalytic reactions that involve the nanoparticles resulting from their sonochemical decomposition. Grieser and Asokku- mar [2] have also written a review on a similar topic. A former coworker, J. J. Zhu, has recently submitted for publication a review article [3], entitled ‘‘Novel Methods for Chemical Preparation of Metal Chalcogenide Nanoparticles’’ in which he reviews the same above-mentioned three synthetic methods and their application in the synthesis of nanosized metal chalcogenides. It is for this reason that chalcogenide nanoparticles, their preparation and properties, will not be reviewed in this chapter. We attempt to review all the published literature related to these three synthetic methods published before the beginning of 2003.