Synthesis, Characterization, and Potential Applications of Transition Metal Nanoparticles

In recent decades, the industrial use of nanoparticles (NPs) and, especially, metal nanoparticles (MNPs), has attracted widespread attention because of their special physicochemical properties. The ability of MNPs to self-arrange into ordered, nanometrically sized structures and form nanometric colloids has enabled their use as nanocatalysts the properties of which can be tailored through ordered growth of their crystal structures. In fact, these nanocatalysts provide a unique opportunity to tune material properties at the nanometric scale. Thus, altering the size or shape of the nanoparticles allows materials of identical composition but different properties to be obtained. The versatility of MNPs (and, especially, those containing the transition metals copper, nickel and palladium) led us to review their synthetic procedures, most salient physicochemical properties, and existing and potential applications (chemical sensing and plasmon resonance included).