Toward the syntheses of universal ligands for metal oxide surfaces: Controlling surface functionality through click chemistry

A strategy for the synthesis of surface functionalized metal oxide nanoparticles through the design of versatile ligands such as phosphonic acid-azide and carboxylic acid-alkyne is demonstrated. The spectroscopic evidence, coupled with the TEM image showing dispersed particles, suggests that the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition was successful and that the particles are stabilized from aggregation by the new ligand system.