Mechanism of the Transfer of AuCl4 – and TOA+ Ions Across the Liquid/Liquid Interface

The Brust–Schiffrin (BS) two-phase method to synthesize nanoparticles has been widely used. In this method, the transfer of tetrachloroaurate (AuCl4 –) from aqueous phase into organic phase is the first step. However, the mechanism of the transfer of AuCl4 – is still not clear. In this paper, we studied the mechanism of the transfer of AuCl4 – across a micrometer-sized interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). Our results revealed that the presence of TOA+ can enhance the transfer of AuCl4 – from aqueous phase into organic phase. The enhanced transfer of AuCl4 – is explained by the shuttling mechanism which has been developed by Laforge et al.