Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
High pressure nanomilling provides an inexpensive, environmentally conscious method to fabricate large quantities of nanoparticles. The presence of large particle sizes, inherent in mechanical attrition processes pose obstacles in identifying the optical properties of these nanosized particles. The high refractive index and relatively small absorption coefficient of silicon (Si) directed our research efforts towards Si nanoparticles. We presently report simple separation procedure which allows us to utilize a range of tools to characterize and exploit properties in the nano size range. Employing these Si nanoparticles, high refractive index nanocomposites in gelatin were fabricated with values as high as 3.2.