Highly dispersed gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized in a two-step process. The stabilizer-free gold core particles with an average diameter of similar to 30 nm were first precipitated by rapid reduction of HAuCl4 with L-ascorbic acid. Thin continuous silver shells of variable thickness were subsequently obtained by reducing controlled amounts of silver nitrate added in the gold sol. The plasmon band of gold gradually blue-shifted and a peak characteristic for silver eventually emerged as the amount of deposited silver increased. A strong and well-defined silver absorption band was recorded when the Ag content exceeded 60 wt.%. It is shown that the concentration of Cl- ions in the gold precursor solution plays a critical role in the stability of the bi-metallic sol and the structure of the deposited silver shell. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.