| The surfaces of a material become increasingly more influential when the dimensions are reduced, because a larger percentage of the atoms are exposed on the surface. The surface environment of nanostructured materials dictates both physical properties and function, but is synthetically challenging to control. Although the desired functionality is commonly introduced via post-synthetic modification, it would be advantageous to minimize the number of synthetic steps by having specific function installed in the precursor. This work describes efforts to investigate new precursor complexes for the synthesis of nanoparticles, in addition to electrochemical studies on single monolayer films for electrocatalysis.;Chapter 2 focuses on the preparation of magnetic nanoaparticles, and the synthesis of a polymerizable surfactant, stacac, to be used to generate composite materials. Although an iron complex of stacac could be used as a precursor for magnetic nanoparticles, favorable composite materials could only be produced by introduction of stacac after isolation of magnetic nanoparticles.;Chapter 3 describes the synthesis of Au(I) complexes with various thiourea-based ligands, to be used as precursors for gold nanoparticles. The experimental conditions were varied and parameters were found where addition of a reducing agent generated solution-stable gold nanoparticles in a reproducible manner. It was determined that only aggregated gold nanoparticles were produced when Au(I) complexes were generated in situ and the use of crystalline precursors resulted in soluble gold nanoparticles.;Chapter 4 discusses the preparation of electrocatalysts for the oxidation of water with a focus on accurately determining the active surface area. A monolayer of cobalt was prepared on a gold electrode by underpotential deposition and used as an electrocatalyst for water oxidation. Because the surface area of gold can be measured directly, deposition of a single monolayer produced negligible roughening of the surface and so the active surface area was based on the surface area of gold. The catalytic efficiency was enhanced in the presence of external anions, highlighting the importance of the surface environment on function. |
