Nanosized Gold and Silver Spherical, Spiky, and Multi-branched Particles

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have recognized a growing importance in chemistry, electronics, optics, physics, and biology in the last decades. The possibility of tuning their unique properties varying dimension and morphology widely extends the range of possible applications. Several innovative chemical routes have been investigated to design shape-controlled synthesis to combine high-yield production with controllable and repeatable morphology. This chapter will focus on gold and silver NPs because of the easiness in synthesis control and of the large implementation in research and industrial applications. Synthesis methods, different morphologies and properties, and some of the possible applications will be discussed and reviewed.