Method for the Preparation of Metal Colloids in Inverse Micelles and Product Preferred by the Method

The present invention relates to the field of catalytic particles, and more particularly to colloidal metal particles used as catalysts.

In the art of forming catalytic colloidal metal particles, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,261 of Stenius et al. discloses a method for preparing particles of metal in the platinum group whereby a metal salt is dissolved in a microemulsion, and the salt is reduced by hydrazine to form elemental metal particles. Several problems are associated with metal particles prepared in accordance with the Stenius et al. method. One problem is that production of iridium catalysts is very difficult. Another problem is that the platinum group particles that are formed are not stable in solution. Another problem is that the suspended metal particles will aggregate when the suspending solution is diluted.

In "Radiation Induced Preparation of Metal Catalysts: Iridium Aggregates", by Belloni in Nouveau Journal De Chimie, Vol. 6, No. 11-1982, p. 507, there is a disclosure that elemental iridium particles are prepared by exposing an aqueous solution of hexachloroiridic acid, in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol surfactant, to a radioactive cobalt-60 source. The dangers and environmental problems associated with radioactive sources are well known and best avoided.

Other patents disclose methods of preparing catalytic particles which are not elemental metal particles. These patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,390,514 and 4,339,345.

Catalytic metal particles are employed in a number of ways in the prior art. For example, the catalytic particles are often supported on catalyst substrates that are contacted with the reactants whose reaction the particles are to catalyze. Other prior art methods either bring catalytic particles to the reactants or bring the reactants to the catalytic particles. It would be desirable, however, if the catalytic particles could be made in situ in the presence of the reactants.

The efficient use of expensive material implies that small, stable colloidal particles be formed in media appropriate to the desired chemical reaction. Thus, forming colloidal particles that are stable in water is not useful if the desired chemical reaction is to take place in toluene. It would be desirable, therefore, if colloidal particles could be formed that are stable in both aqueous and nonaqueous solvents.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing catalytic colloidal metal particles that are stable in solution.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing stable colloidal iridium particles.

Another object is to provide a method for preparing suspensions of catalytic colloidal metal particles that do not aggregate when the suspension is diluted.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method for preparing catalytic colloidal metal particles in situ in the presence of the reactants whose reaction is to be catalyzed.

An additional object of the invention is to provide colloidal metal particles that are stable in both aqueous and nonaqueous solvents.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing colloidal elemental metal catalyst particles without using radioactive materials.

Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, an improved method is provided for preparing catalytic elemental metal colloidal particles. With the invention, a homogeneous inverse micelle solution of a metal salt is first formed in a metal-salt solvent comprised of a surfactant and an organic solvent. It is understood that an inverse micelle, in accordance with the invention, has a hydrophilic component centrally located in a sphere-like micelle structure with a hydrophobic component radiating out from the center. The homogeneous inverse micelle solution of the invention is thermodynamically stable for virtually an indefinite period of time. The inverse micelle environment is formed by careful selection of a surfactant and organic solvent in which inverse micelles can exist, as described in greater detail hereinbelow.

In accordance with an additional aspect of the invention, then, the ionic metal in the metal salt is reduced by electromagnetic radiation to colloidal particles of elemental metal.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, once the stable homogeneous inverse micelle solution of a metal salt in the metal-salt solvent is formed, and once colloidal elemental metal particles have been formed by reduction of the dissolved metal salt (either by chemical reducing agents or by electromagnetic radiation), then the colloidal metal particles that are formed are stabilized so as not to aggregate when the particles are dried to a powder and when the powdered particles are suspended in wide range of solvents with a wide range of dilutions.

Stabilization of the colloidal elemental particles of the invention is obtained with materials that permanently add surface stabilizing groups to the surface of the colloidal metal particles. Stabilization of the metal particles is obtained by several different approaches. In one approach, the colloidal elemental particles are stabilized by a the presence of a small amount of surfactant that adheres to the metal particles. The surfactant is present in the homogeneous inverse micelle solution, and a small amount of this surfactant adheres to the colloidal elemental particles. With this approach, most of the surfactant present in the homogeneous inverse micelle solution is free to separate in a second phase separate from the colloidal particles. Then, the surfactant in the second phase can be recovered for recycling.

In a second approach, the colloidal elemental particles are stabilized by reaction with compounds that react with the surfaces of the already formed particles.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a method for producing colloidal metal particles is comprised of the following steps. A homogeneous inverse micelle solution of a metal salt in a metal-salt solvent is formed at or above a first temperature such that the solution is a single phase. At or above the first temperature, the metal salt is reduced such that colloidal elemental metal particles are formed, whereby the colloidal particles are suspended in the metal-salt solvent. Then, the metal-salt solvent is permitted to cool to a second temperature at which two phases form, with the colloidal elemental metal particles being concentrated in one of the phases and excess surfactant being concentrated in the other phase which can be treated to separate the surfactant for recycling.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for forming colloidal particles comprised of metal alloys. With this aspect of the invention, two salts containing two different metals are dissolved and reduced to elemental metal by exposure to electromagnetic radiation, such that colloidal particles, an alloy of the two metals, is formed. More specifically, the reduction of the metal salt to colloidal metal particles by electromagnetic radiation can be carried out by employing photolytic reduction with a UV (ultraviolet) laser. In addition, the colloidal metal particles can be stabilized by contact with an organometallic compound.

In forming the metal alloy particles, a first metal salt is first reduced to elemental metal particles (by a first reducing agent such as a chemical reducing agent or a first electromagnetic radiation), the first metal reduction being conducted as a homogeneous nucleation and growth stage. Then a second metal salt is added, and second elemental metal is reduced (by a second reducing agent such as a chemical reducing agent or a second electromagnetic radiation) and forms on the surfaces of the first metal particles to form the alloy particles. The second metal forming on the first metal is conducted as a heterogeneous nucleation and growth stage.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, colloidal elemental metal particles are provided in powder form where the powder particles are stabilized with a number of stabilizing agents. With one product of the invention, colloidal elemental metal particles of powder have a nonionic surfactant (e.g. octaethylene glycol monodecyl ether) adhered to the metal particles. With another product of the invention, colloidal elemental metal particles of powder have a cationic surfactant, e.g. didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB), adhered to the metal particles. With yet another product of the invention, colloidal elemental metal particles of powder have an organometallic material (e.g. mesityl gold) adhered to the metal particles. With still another product of the invention, colloidal elemental metal particles of powder have an organic thiol (e.g. cyclohexane thiol) adhered to the metal particles.

Several important benefits are realized with the invention. Catalyst particles are obtained which perform their catalyst function without being deposited on a catalyst support. With the invention, the colloidal catalyst particles form powders that can be brought into suspension in a wide range of solvents and with a wide range of dilutions being stable in suspension without falling out of suspension.

Still another benefit obtained by the invention is that the actual phase behavior of the inverse micelle solution is used to control the size of the colloidal elemental metal particles and the size distribution of the particles.

Still other objects and benefits of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description. However, the description should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Although the phenomena occurring within the method of the invention may not be fully and completely understood, a theoretical explanation is provided herein in order to lend greater understanding as to the operation of the invention.

With the invention, catalyst formation relies on the inherently microheterogeneous structure of solutions called inverse micelles or microemulsions (when the inverse micelle includes a liquid in the interior of the micelle) to limit the extent of aggregation of metals in solutions. In effect, the small (.about.10-300 .ANG.) spherical droplets of surfactant act as microscopic chemical reactors, limiting the extent of colloid growth.

In the process, a metal salt (e.g. HAuCl.sub.4), which is normally quite insoluble in a pure organic phase (e.g. cyclohexane), is solubilized by addition of 1-10 wt % of a nonionic surfactant in the family C.sub.i E.sub.j. These surfactants, being uncharged, have minimum effects on the metal salts themselves and are unreactive towards reducing agents such as hydrazine or sodium borohydride. In the case of inverse micelles, the salt is directly dissolved in the solution. In the case of inverse microemulsions, the salt is first dissolved at the desired concentration in a first liquid (e.g. water), and the first liquid is then solubilized along with the salt in the interior of the micelles. By careful selection of surfactant type and solvent, the amount of first liquid addition may be quite large (e.g. up to 60 first liquid molecules per surfactant molecule). The added first liquid controls the size of the droplets and is used, together with the amount of metal salt, to control the final metal colloid size and number density of colloidal particles.

In pure inverse micelle systems the average number of metal ions per micelle controls the final colloid size. When a reducing agent, hydrazine, is added, the many metal ions become quickly reduced to neutral metal. Nucleation sites then exist uniformly throughout the solution wherever a micelle contains one or more metal atoms. Aggregation occurs when two micelles collide and exchange contents, with larger clusters growing at the expense of smaller ones, until all the available metal is used up. The colloidal particles are then stabilized by the absorbed surfactant, and are indefinitely stable over a range of temperatures which depends on the proper choice of a solvent/surfactant micellar system.

To increase the degree of stability of these colloids employing the nonionic surfactants, especially to increase the stability of these colloids in solvents other than the solvents that the colloids are formed in, the method of the invention provides a step of permanently attaching metal organic groups to the surface, (e.g. mesityl gold), which allows complete recovery of the surfactant and reuse in further reduction/colloid formation reactions. It is also possible to add organic thiol molecules, (e.g. cyclohexane thiol), to the colloid solution at a concentration of 10-100 thiols/colloid to replace the surfactant and permanently stabilize the colloids, allowing them to be first centrifuged to a solid pellet, washed, and then dissolved in a wide range of useful organic solvents, including cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, tetrahydrofuran, and hexane. They are insoluble in water or alcohols.

The method of the invention allows dissolution of metal salt containing some water of hydration (e.g. HAuCl.sub.4, H.sub.2 IrCl.sub.6) at levels of up to 0.05M in organic solvents. This allows final colloid particle densities of 10.sup.16 /cc, and, with typical sizes of 10 nm, provides specific surface areas of .about.174 m.sup.2 /gm of metal. This ability to produce particles with large surface areas/unit weight greatly exceeds that of any conventional method of catalyst formation. In addition, the method begins with a homogeneous inverse micelle solution whose metal ion composition can be controlled easily. Being a liquid, the distribution of ions is random and homogeneous, and if the reduction kinetics of the metals, and metal lattice constants are well matched, (e.g. Pt and Au), then we have demonstrated that colloidal particles containing both types of metals may be produced. This allows the properties of the catalyst to be tailored to match the desired chemical reaction. It also should allow reduction of the required amounts of expensive materials, (e.g. Ir), by combining them with less costly metals. An excellent example is Pt coated Fe or Ni colloids for catalytic conversion in coal liquefaction.

The metal reduction step varies somewhat from metal to metal while the nucleation and colloidal growth step is dependent only on the selected surfactant/solvent system, (i.e. nearly universal). The only requirement is that a soluble salt of the desired metal colloid be available.

For reduction, specific protocols have been developed for several important metals including Fe, Ni, Ir, Pt, Ag and Au. Pt, Au, and Ag can be reduced using either a UV laser operating either pulsed, (10 Hz, .about.40 millijoules/pulse, 10 nsec duration), or CW (continuous wave) at .about.350 nm, (average power 0.5 watts). The reaction, however, requires several minutes to go to completion and temperature control and stirring of the reaction vessel are required to prevent undesirable phase separation from occurring. Fe and Ni cannot be reduced photochemically, but must be reduced in an oxygen free atmosphere, (because of the ready formation of oxides), by addition of NaBH.sub.4. Ir can be reduced photochemically using a CW UV laser if a photosensitizer such as AgNO.sub.3 is added in small quantities. It can also be reduced chemically using N.sub.2 H.sub.4, as can Au and Pt. The latter chemical reaction and colloid formation requires only .about.1-2 minutes to go to completion, making it the most attractive for practical colloid formation.

The examples presented below are illustrative of application of the methods of the invention.

The nonionic surfactant octaethylene glycol monodecyl ether (short name henceforth is C.sub.10 E.sub.8 was purchased from Fluka Chemicals. This surfactant is part of the general group of amphiphiles used in the method covered by this patent in the nonionic surfactant family C.sub.i E.sub.j, where i=number of hydrocarbon atoms, j=number of ether groups. These surfactants are available in both research grade (Nikko, Japan) and commercial grade (Fluka, others) purity levels. In this example 10 wt % of C.sub.10 E.sub.8 was first dissolved in octane. HAuCl.sub.4 (anhydrous) was then dissolved in this solution at a concentration of 5.times.10.sup.-4 M. The sample was one phase under these conditions. The sample was then Ar gas purged. Hydrazine (5M stock in water) was added at a 2-3 fold molar excess compared to the salt concentration with rapid stirring. The sample clears, darkens, goes purple and finally turns red forming colloidal gold. After .about.20 minutes the sample spontaneously phase separates into two phases with a nearly pure gold colloid upper phase and a lower phase containing the ionic by-products of the reaction with the majority of the surfactant. Some colloid rearrangement continues for several hours as the particle size decreases and the size distribution narrows as established by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The upper phase is extracted and is stabilized by the remaining surfactant on the gold colloid surface. The colloids are not stable in other solvents at this point but can be made so by adding .about.0.1 wt % of the cationic surfactant didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB made by Kodak chemicals) which exchanges with the more weakly bound nonionic species on the gold surface. Stability greater than 2 years in the solvent of preparation was established. Particles could be concentrated without aggregation by solvent evaporation to volume fractions greater than 20 vol %. This permits their application as nearly ideal electro-rheological fluids (i.e. they are highly polarizable, being metals, but are stable in a nonconductive oil medium) and in conductive ink spraying (optimally prepared in highly volatile solvents like hexane and pentane). The purification of the hydrophobic colloids from ions via phase separation is a major advantage of this example. Although octane has been used in the solvent for forming the homogeneous inverse micelle, other solvents including saturated hydrocarbons having from five to sixteen carbons can also be employed. In addition, aromatic hydrocarbons such as the toluenes, the xylenes, and benzene can also be employed.

Another cationic surfactant that can be employed with the invention is tridodecylmethylammonium bromide (TMAB).

An important advantage of the colloidal elemental metal particles of the invention which are formed in the presence of a cationic surfactant such as DDAB is that the colloidal metal particles are stable and will not aggregate in the presence of solvents other than the solvents in which the particles are formed. Furthermore, the colloidal elemental metal particles are stable and will not aggregate in the presence of solvents in which the DDAB, by itself, is not soluble. More specifically, DDAB by itself is not soluble in hexadecane. However, with the colloidal elemental metal particles formed in the presence of DDAB, the suspension of particles formed in a solvent containing toluene can be diluted with hexadecane without an aggregation of the colloidal particles, even though the bulk of DDAB that is not adhering to the colloidal elemental metal particles falls out of solution in the presence of the hexadecane.

Variations can be made in the conditions described for Example 1 as follows.

1. Any of the gold salt precursors AuCl.sub.3, NH.sub.4 AuCl.sub.4, KAuBr.sub.4 may be used to form gold colloids at concentrations between 1.times.10.sup.-5 M and 0.05M. There are modest variations in particle size with salt precursor type and ion concentration in the 5 nm to 50 nm range. As the metal concentration is increased at constant surfactant concentration, the sample becomes two phase at room temperature (T=25.degree. C.) before reaction. Then the reaction temperature must be elevated (e.g. .about.40.degree. C. at 5.times.10.sup.-3 M salt precursor concentration is required to form a single homogeneous phase, proportionally higher temperatures at higher salt concentrations). These gold salt precursor micelle solutions are then reacted as described above and upon lowering the temperature the system phase separates. It is very important to the formation of small, <50 nm particles that the reaction be performed at least 10.degree. C. above the phase boundary. If performed at or below the phase separation temperature, the growth will not be limited and sedimentation will result.

2. NaBH.sub.4 (5M stock in water, 2.times.molar excess) may be used as an alternative chemical reducing agent with an increase in final colloid size of .about.10-20 nm compared to hydrazine, except at the lowest salt concentrations (i.e., <4.times.10.sup.-4 M) where the size is comparable. Photoreduction may be used using a CW Ar ion laser operating at 350 nm at .about.300-500 mW while stirring the sample which is immersed in a constant temperature bath. Reaction can be stopped at various times allowing various size particles from (2-50 nm) to be obtained by this method. Exposure greater than .about.10 minutes results in irreversible aggregation and sedimentation. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at .about.50 mJ/pulse at a rep rate of 10 Hz may be used. Exclusion of dissolved oxygen is crucial to forming small, narrow size distribution particles.

3. Permitted surfactant wt % for successful formation is between 5% and 40 wt %, but the details of the phase separation temperature and permitted reactions temperature changes. In general, higher wt % allows lower reaction temperatures to be used without aggregation occurring.

4. Permitted types of solvents include hydrocarbons from hexane to hexadecane, but details of the phase separation vary systematically with hydrocarbon and the reaction temperature must be adjusted accordingly. Reaction temperatures are lowest with the most hydrophilic (hexane) and much higher (.about.60.degree. C.) with the most hydrophobic (hexadecane) solvents in this series.

The method of the invention is water-free so completely novel methods of reduction are possible. In this example any nonionic surfactant from C.sub.12 E.sub.3 to C.sub.12 E.sub.8 is dissolved in a solvent including hexane to hexadecane, or cyclohexane (best with C.sub.12 E.sub.5 and C.sub.12 E.sub.6 in hexane or octane) at a concentration of 5-20 wt % (best at 10 wt %). A metal salt (e.g. HAuCl.sub.4, AgNO.sub.3) is then added directly to a final concentration between 1.times.10.sup.-4 M and 0.01M (best at .about.1.times.10.sup.-3 M). The sample is Ar purged then injected into a vial containing Na pellets with stirring. Sample turns from golden to clear (fully reduced) in <1 sec, then purple to red color change occurs indicating colloidal gold formation (yellow color for silver) in .about.30 sec to 1 min depending on metal salt concentration. Sample is then poured off of pellets and stable, small (<20 nm) colloids of gold or silver are recovered. TEM shows diffraction corresponding to crystalline bulk metal. Final sizes were very small at 8.3 nm as shown in TEM #1 showing Au metal colloids formed in the C.sub.12 E.sub.5 /hexane/HAuCl.sub.4 (5.times.10.sup.-4 M) system.

Variations can be made in the conditions described for Example 2 as follows.

Same protocol applies to RhCl.sub.3 to form Rh colloids, NiCl.sub.2 to form Ni colloids or FeCl.sub.3 to form Fe colloids. Air exclusion is absolutely critical for nickel and iron to avoid oxide formation. Use of other salts such as KAuBr.sub.4 as precursors forms less optimal size and size distributions with this method, but allows tuning of the size. For the case of KAuBr.sub.4 particles are .about.50 nm in average size. Also use of AgClO.sub.4 as precursor salt is permitted.

This example is similar to example 1 but the solvent is chosen so that the solvent/surfactant system before salt introduction is two phase at room temperature (T=25.degree. C.). This example is for a 10 wt % solution of C.sub.10 E.sub.8 in dodecane (see variations below). The salt is added to give concentrations between 1.times.10.sup.-4 M and 0.01M. The solution is now two phase with the salt (e.g. NaAuCl.sub.4, PdCl.sub.2, NiCl.sub.2) in the lower surfactant phase before reaction. The 5.times.10.sup.-4 M salt solution is next heated to .about.60.degree. C. which is .about.30.degree. C. above the phase boundary and the solution becomes homogeneous and single phase. Hydrazine is added as described in example 1. Reaction is complete in less than 1 minute and red colloids (gold), yellow-brown NiB (using NaBH.sub.4, as a reductant), Pd (using hydrazine), or silver (using AgNO.sub.3 and hydrazine) are formed. The temperature is lowered to 25.degree. C. and the volume ratio of upper metal colloid phase to the lower ion by-product surfactant phase is determined by the wt % of C.sub.10 E.sub.8 used in the precursor micelle system (e.g. 30 wt % gives 50:50 phase volumes). Metal colloids are extracted from the surfactant free upper phase as before. By adjusting the temperature difference to various distances above the phase boundary size control is achieved via alteration of the growth stage of the reaction. For example, for the gold colloid system with the conditions of this example, at 10.degree. C. above the phase boundary the final size is .about.150 nm and colloids are purple, for 20.degree. C. above, the final size of the violet colloids is .about.50 nm, while at 30.degree. C. above the size is 20-30 nm (this example), and for >30.degree. C. above the colloids are 10-20 nm.

Variations can be made in the conditions described for Example 3 as follows. This variation relates to the use of an ionic surfactant to form Au metal colloids combined with application of organometallics as surface passivation agents for permanent stabilization and powder formation.

The surfactant Aerosol-OT (called AOT hereafter, Fluka Chemicals) is dissolved at 10 wt % in toluene. Then HAuCl.sub.4 is dissolved at 0.03M. A two fold molar excess of hydrazine (5M stock in water) is added in an oxygen-free environment. Red metal colloids of size less than 10 nm are formed. Mesityl-Gold, a commercially available organo-gold complex, is dissolved in toluene to form a stock solution at .about.0.01M and then enough of this stock is added to the gold colloid solution to achieve a final concentration of 10.sup.-4 M in mesityl-gold. This is .about.100 molecules/colloid in this example. This binds irreversibly to the gold surface, so the colloids may now be directly formed into a powder by spinning at 15000 RPM in a Beckmann centrifuge, fixed angle rotor for several hours forming a red pellet. Pouring off the supernatant and washing the pellet in toluene and repeating this step results in a surfactant-free red pellet which may be dried or alternatively redissolved in organic solvents such as toluene, xylene, or cyclohexane. TEM and neutron scattering confirms no aggregation occurs during these step. Colloids are very small as shown in TEM #2.

In this example the formation process is performed in the cationic surfactant/solvent system with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) made by Kodak, at 10 wt % dissolved in toluene. The precursor salts used are FeCl.sub.3, NiCl.sub.2, MoO.sub.2 Br.sub.2, Na.sub.2 PtCl.sub.6, RhCl.sub.3, and PdSo.sub.4 respectively and are dissolved at concentrations between 1.times.10.sup.-4 M and 0.01M (this example is for 5.times.10.sup.-3 M). Reduction is by NaBH.sub.4 in each case (5M stock in water with NaOH) at a 2-fold molar excess at room temperature with vigorous stirring in an Ar purged solution (i.e. under argon gas). Hydrazine may also be used, except for NiCl.sub.2, but produces larger, more polydisperse final colloids. All agents are introduced via Hamilton syringe to avoid air introduction. Colored metal solutions are formed and the particles are generally between 2-5 nm in size by TEM. TEM #3 shows the Pd colloids formed by this method. These solutions may be diluted into many other organic solvents (both aliphatic and aromatic) without aggregation, examples being pentane through hexadecane, cyclohexane, toluene, and xylene. It is claimed here that DDAB adheres irreversibly to the metal colloid surface and imparts an effective surface charge. This supposition is supported by the observation that since DDAB is insoluble in, for example, hexadecane, upon said dilution, the bulk DDAB used in the colloid forming stage of this example precipitates out of solution leaving a colored, clear solution of the unaggregated colloids. Lack of aggregation was established by in situ light scattering measurements. Use of this more strongly binding surfactant consistently results in smaller final colloids than use of the C.sub.i E.sub.j surfactants as reported in example 1.

Variations can be made in the conditions described for Example 4 as follows in that Example 4 is also applicable to production of Au, Ag, Sn, U and Th colloids using the same surfactant/solvent system but using AuCl.sub.3, AgNO.sub.3, SnCl.sub.2, UNO.sub.3 and Th(NO.sub.3).sub.4 as precursor salts.

Another suitable cationic surfactant that can be used is tridodecylmethylammonium bromide (TMAB).

In this example no reducing agent is employed. We dissolve Cd(ClO.sub.4).sub.2 (or less optimally CdCl.sub.2) in 10 wt % C.sub.12 E.sub.5 in Octane to form a clear homogeneous precursor salt solution at a final salt concentration of 1.times.10.sup.-5 M to 5.times.10.sup.-3 M. Another solution of Na.sub.2 S at approximately twice the concentration in the same surfactant/solvent system is prepared. Both solutions are degassed by Ar bubbling and then, with vigorous stirring, one solution is quickly added through a Hamilton syringe to the other. Light yellow CdS of size less than 5 nm is formed as illustrated in TEM #4. Its optical absorbance and light scattering confirm its small size.

To form MoS.sub.2 we first make a solution of molybdenum oxalate at 1.times.10.sup.-3 M in the same solvent/surfactant system described in this example. The Na.sub.2 S solution described above is added. A CW 350 nm, 300 mW output power beam irradiates the combined solution as described in example 6 leading to photodecomposition of the molybdenum oxalate and formation of colloidal MoS.sub.2. Size is 5-20 nm depending on UV exposure time and incident power.

In this example the precursor surfactant/solvent surfactant solutions are prepared as described in the above examples. We take a specific example of the formation of the Ag/Ir alloy. AgNO.sub.3 is dissolved at a concentration of .about.2.times.10.sup.-4 M in C.sub.12 E.sub.5 (10 wt %) in octane. The solution is degassed by Ar bubbling. A CW 350 nm wavelength Ar ion laser at 300 mW is used to irradiate the sample while it is immersed in a water bath with stirring of the sample for 1-3 minutes. Approximately 12 nm Ag (yellow) colloids with a characteristic absorbance at 385 nm are formed. Then .about.1.times.10.sup.-4 M H.sub.2 IrCl.sub.6 was added to this solution and was quickly solubilized by stirring in the micelles interior in ionic form. Further laser irradiation for .about.5 minutes resulted in a yellow/brown solution which was identified as colloid Ag/Ir by analytical TEM with the expected composition of 2:1 Ag:Ir. A 1:1 alloy of Au to Pt was formed by the same method using a precursor solution of hexane/C.sub.12 E.sub.5 (10 wt %) containing both 2.times.10.sup.-4 M NaAuCl.sub.4 and 2.times.10.sup.-4 M Na.sub.2 PtCl.sub.4 but using a pulsed YAG laser operating as described in the variations below. TEM #5 shows the small size of the colloid alloys formed. The size variation is also small.

Variations can be made in the conditions described for Example 6 as follows.

For Pt and Pd metal colloids, precursor salt solutions as above are prepared from Na.sub.2 PtCl.sub.4 or Na.sub.2 PdCl.sub.4 respectively. A pulsed Nd: YAG laser operating at the third harmonic (.about.350 nm) at .about.10-50 mJ/pulse at the rep rate of 10 Hz is used to effect a photoreduction of the solution. Yellow/brown colloids are formed in .about.1-3 minutes. This laser is better for producing a narrow size distribution than the CW laser method described above. The CW method seems better for gold, silver, and iridium colloid production.

With the procedures described above, colloidal elemental metal particles are produced in powder form in which a small amount of colloid stabilizing agent is adhered to the colloid particles. When the colloidal elemental metal particles are separated from the solvents in which colloid formation takes place, the great bulk of the material added for stabilization separates from the stabilized particles. More specifically, when the inverse micelles are first formed in the homogeneous inverse micelle solution, only a relatively few of the micelles contain the salt that is the precursor to the colloidal elemental metal particles. Most of the micelles that are actually formed are empty; that is they do not contain the colloidal particle precursor. A relatively large amount of inverse micelle forming material is first added because a large number of metal salt ions must be solubilized.

After the colloidal elemental metal particles are formed, and after the colloidal elemental metal particles are stabilized, they are separated from the vast majority of stabilizing agent which is present in excess and does not have particles to adhere to. After the colloidal elemental metal particles are formed, a relatively small amount of metal salt ion is present, and only a small amount of the stabilizing agent need be present to stabilize the colloidal elemental metal particles. Only approximately 1/1,000th of the stabilizer added actually adheres to the colloidal elemental metal particles.

The fact that only a small amount of stabilizing agent adheres to the colloidal elemental metal particles is important from the standpoint of catalysis. When the stabilized colloidal elemental metal particles are used as catalysts, the minor presence of stabilizing agent does not interfere with the ability of the metal particles from serving their catalytic function. If a large amount of stabilizing agent adhered to the metal particles, which may be present in prior art methods, the catalytic function could be significantly impeded.

Another point worthy of emphasis is that with both the nonionic surfactant and the cationic surfactant used to stabilize the colloidal elemental metal particles, both methods are similar in that they employ a phase separation to separate the colloidal elemental metal particles from the bulk of the surfactant. A significant difference, however, is that with the nonionic surfactant, the phase separation takes place by imposing a temperature change. On the other hand, with the cationic surfactant as colloid stabilizer, the phase separation takes place with the addition of a solvent in which the cationic surfactant by itself is insoluble. Generally speaking, aromatic solvents are used to form the homogeneous inverse micelle solution, and aliphatic solvents are added to form the second phase.

Using nonionic surfactants, the range of particle size of the colloidal elemental metal particles is approximately 5 nm-150 nm. Using cationic surfactants, the range of particle size of the colloidal elemental metal particles is approximately 1 nm-50 nm.

In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing the principles of the invention. With the invention a method is provided for producing catalytic colloidal metal particles that are stable in solution. Also, a method is provided for producing stable colloidal iridium particles. With the invention, a method is provided for preparing suspensions of catalytic colloidal metal particles that do not aggregate when the suspension is diluted. Also, with the invention, a method is provided for preparing catalytic colloidal metal particles in situ in the presence of the reactants whose reaction is to be catalyzed. Also, with the invention, a method is provided in which colloidal metal particles are formed that are stable in both aqueous and nonaqueous solvents. Also, with the invention, a method is provided for producing colloidal elemental metal catalyst particles without using radioactive materials.

The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments and examples were chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.