N,N-Dimethylformamide as a Reaction Medium for Metal Nanoparticle Synthesis*

This chapter intends to provide an overview of the use of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) for the fabrication of metal nanoparticles, mainly gold and silver, with tailored morphology and properties. It reviews the main achievements in wet chemical synthesis of metal nanoparticles using DMF as reducing agent. The design of synthetic methods for the production of metal nanoparticles has seen an enormous improvement during the last decade, originating from potential applications of these systems in a wide variety of attractive fields, ranging from communications and microelectronics to medical diagnostics and therapy. DMF is well-known for its high synthetic value, to a large extent due to its wide liquid temperature range, good chemical and thermal stability, high polarity and wide solubility range for both organic and inorganic compounds. This uniquely versatile and powerful chemical has been used as a solvent in a wide variety of synthetic procedures, including: preparation of colloids, synthesis of block copolymers, and many types of organic chemistry reactions.