Microwave assisted template synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Easier, less time consuming, green processes, which yield silver nanoparticles of uniform size, shape and morphology are of interest. Various methods for synthesis, such as conventional temperature assisted process, controlled reaction at elevated temperatures, and microwave assisted process have been evaluated for the kind of silver nanoparticles synthesized. Starch has been employed as a template and reducing agent. Electron microscopy, photon correlation spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance have been employed to characterize the silver nanoparticles synthesized. Compared to conventional methods, microwave assisted synthesis was faster and provided particles with an average particle size of 12 nm. Further, the starch functions as template, preventing the aggregation of silver nanoparticles.     

Optical switch from silver nanocomposite thin films

Silver nanoparticles capped with sodium alginate were assembled into thin films by using the layer-by-layer dipping technique. Composite films were built by sequential dipping of a glass slide in either anionic alginate capped nanoparticles or cationic Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The growth of the film was characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy by monitoring the increase in absorbance at 420 nm which correspond to the silver nanoparticles plasmon band. The final films formed onto glass slides displayed and interesting color shift upon exposure to water or to a less polar solvent such as ethanol. In this research, changes in spectral absorbance of the nanoparticles film were monitored as a function of ethanol content (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) in water. The color shift from yellow to red color was explained by the changes in the dielectric constant of the silver nanoparticles surrounding medium which induce a shift in their plasmon band absorbance. These composite thin films displayed fast color change and could therefore be used in sensing application as well as for optical switches.     

Green synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles by sonochemical method

A facile sonochemical method was developed for preparing colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in aqueous gelatin solutions. The effect of the reducing agent and Ag⁺ concentrations, ultrasonic time, and ultrasonic amplitude on the particle size has been investigated. The size of the Ag-NPs decreases with the ultrasonic amplitude and increases with ultrasonic time. Well-dispersed spherical Ag-NPs with a mean particle size of about 3.5 nm have been synthesized under ultrasonic process. The use of gelatin as an eco-friendly stabilizer provides green and economic attributes to this work. This preparation method is general and may be extended to other noble metals, such as Au, Pd and Pt, and may possibly find various additional medicinal, industrial and technological applications.     

Microwave assisted polymer stabilized synthesis of silver nanoparticles and its application in the degradation of environmental pollutants

Graft copolymers of polyacrylamide (PAM) and dextran (Dx) are synthesized by grafting PAM chains onto a Dx backbone (Dx-g-PAM) with ceric ion induced solution polymerization technique. Partial hydrolysis of Dx-g-PAM is carried out with sodium hydroxide solution to obtain HDx-g-PAM. To synthesize silver nanoparticles dispersed copolymer nano-composite (Ag-HDx-g-PAM), reduction of silver ions with HDx-g-PAM is carried out using microwave heating. The environmentally benign and biodegradable copolymer, HDx-g-PAM acts as both stabilizer and reducing agent. The copolymer nano-composite, Ag-HDx-g-PAM is characterized by FT-IR, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy. Further, the catalytic activity of Ag-HDx-g-PAM nano-composite towards the reduction of environmental pollutants like phenosafranine dye and aromatic nitro compounds are studied.     

Synthesis of uniform silver nanoparticles with a controllable size

A new method for the synthesis of uniform silver nanoparticles using a single silver reduction step is presented. Fine control over the nanoparticle's size is achieved by varying the concentration of tannic acid, one of the reducing agents, resulting in uniform nanoparticles in the range of 18 nm to 30 nm in diameter with a standard deviation of less than 15%. Changes in the optical properties of the nanoparticles are correlated with their diameter. As the diameter increases the absorption peak is red-shifted. Specifically, for six different sizes of nanoparticles, ranging from 18 nm to 30 nm in diameter, a red-shift from 401 nm to 410 nm in the absorption peaks is measured. In addition, the extinction coefficient increases as the third power of the nanoparticle radius. Rhodamine 123 adsorbed to 30 nm silver nanoparticles exhibits characteristic Raman spectrum suggesting that these nanoparticles are efficient substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.     

Facile photoreductive synthesis of silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial studies

In the present work, silver nanoparticles stabilized with L-Cysteine (L-Cys) were synthesized based on the one-pot green process by UV irradiation, in which L-Cysteine acts as biological capping agent. The composition and morphological characteristics of the L-Cys capped AgNPs has been ascertained by different techniques such as UV–vis, FL, XRD, TEM, EDX, FTIR and CD analysis. The results demonstrated the formation of spherical nanoparticles of pure Ag° coated with L-Cys. The antibacterial tests on L-Cys capped AgNPs were performed, exerting effective antimicrobial activity both against E. coli and S. aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 21.9 μg/mL and 175 μg/mL, respectively. Considering this simple and green process, the approach may facilitate new approaches to the manufacture of AgNPs-based antibacterial agent.     

Polyelectrolyte assisted silver nanoparticles synthesis and thin film formation

Silver nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of silver salts with sodium borohydride and capped with a copolymer of styrene sulfonate and maleic monomers. The synthesized nanoparticles were then deposited on a glass substrate using the layer-by-layer deposition technique in alternance with polycationic poly(diallyl-dimethylammonium chloride) PDADMAC. The synthesis of the silver nanoparticles as well as the layer-by-layer deposition with PDADMAC was easily monitored by UV–Vis spectroscopy due to the strong plasmon absorbance at 400 nm of the silver nanoparticles. Our study shows that increasing the concentration ration between the co-polyelectrolyte and silver nitrate has a negative effect on the size distribution of the resulting silver nanoparticles. For the layer-by-layer assembly, the PSS-co-Maleic was found to be a good capping agent since it allows later the formation of uniform thin films when deposited with PDADMAC. A linear increase in absorbance as a function of the number of deposited layers was observed.     

Mass-spectrometric investigations of the synthesis of silver nanoparticles via electrolysis

The synthesis of silver nanoparticles during electrolysis of NaCl solutions and silver electrodes was controlled by using UV absorption and mass-spectrometric methods. For mass-spectrometric measurements, the laser desorption/ionization method and a time of flight (TOF) spectrometer were employed. Results of investigations show the possibility of formation of small silver nanoparticles (of the cluster size ?7) or their compounds.     

Silicon lithium-ion battery anode with enhanced performance: Multiple effects of silver nanoparticles

Silicon has been regarded as one of the most promising next generation lithium-ion battery anode. However, the poor cyclic stability of the Si based anode has severely limited its practical applications, which is even worse with high mass loading density (>1?mg?cm^?2). A new concept has been developed to enhance the electrochemical performance of the Si nanoparticle anode. Silver nanoparticles are composited with the silicon nanoparticles in a facile way for the first time. It is found that the mechanical properties of the Si electrode have been significantly improved by the incorporation of the silver nanoparticles, leading to enhanced cyclic performance. With the Si/Ag mass ratio of 4:1, the reversible specific discharge capacity is retained as 1156?mA?h?g^?1 after 100 cycles at 200?mA?g^?1, which is more than three times higher than that of the bare silicon (318?mA?h?g^?1). The rate performance has been effectively improved as well due to excellent electron conductivity of the silver nanoparticles.     

Influence of carbon precursors on thermal plasma assisted synthesis of SiC nanoparticles

Nanosized SiC was synthesized by solid state method using silicon and carbon powders followed by non-transferred arc thermal plasma processing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that activated carbon has highest reactivity while graphite has lowest activity in the crystallization of SiC through solid state method. The reactivity was dependent on surface area of carbon source and activated carbon with highest surface area (590.18 m² g⁻¹) showed highest reactivity, whereas graphite with least surface area (15.69 m² g⁻¹) showed lowest reactivity. The free silicon content was decreased with increasing reaction time as well as carbon mole ratio. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) study showed that the shape and size of synthesized SiC depends on the shape and size of carbon source. SiC nanoparticles within 500 nm were formed for carbon black while bigger particles (∼5 μm) were formed for activated carbon and graphite. Plasma processing of these solid–solid synthesized SiC resulted into the formation of well dispersed, ultrafine SiC nanoparticles (30–40 nm) without any structural modification. Thermal plasma processing resulted into the increase in crystallite size of SiC.     

Preparation of controllable core-shell gold nanoparticles and its application in detection of silver ions

We report a novel shell technique to prepare controllable core-shell nanoparticles. In this technique, the shell is formed when the core reacts with metal ions and Na(2)S(2)O(3) and the size of the core and thickness of the shell can be controlled. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction reveal that the shell consists of insoluble complex salts comprising Au(2)S, AuAgS, and Ag(3)AuS(2). The resulting core-shell nanoparticles obtained at different reaction stages demonstrate that the formation of Au(2)S, AuAgS, and Ag(3)AuS(2) shell proceeds from the outside. The morphological evolution of the particles changes significantly with reaction time demonstrating that formation of the shell results from diffusion in the solid shell. The core-shell nanoparticles produced by this technique can be used as nanosensors to detect Ag(+) in aqueous media with high selectivity and sensitivity. The excellent selectivity for Ag(+) is demonstrated by comparing the response to other metal ions. In addition, our evaluation indicates that gold nanorods offer higher sensitivity than gold nanospheres.     

Rapid synthesis of highly stable silver nanoparticles and its application for colourimetric sensing of cysteine

A modified green approach for the synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using tea leaf extract is described. The method involves the reduction of silver salt by the polyphenols present in the green tea leaf extract and requires no additional capping/stabilising agents. Compared to other biogenic methods for the synthesis of AgNPs, the uniqueness of the approach described here lies in its simplicity, low-cost, and rapid synthesis rate; the reaction being completed within 10–15 min at room temperature. The reaction was carried out in alkaline medium without stirring and heating, and requires no special cleaning or drying of the glassware used. The synthesised AgNPs were characterised by UV–Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that AgNPs with a strong surface plasmon resonance peak around 410 nm and particle size in the 5–30 nm range were prepared. The synthesised AgNPs show excellent chemical stability for more than six months in aqueous solution. Additionally, we showed that the as-synthesised AgNPs can be used as highly selective colorimetric and optical sensors for the detection of cysteine. Thus, with a simple synthesis strategy, and enhanced stability, these green-tea-functionalised AgNPs have the potential for further applications as biosensors and antimicrobial agents.     

Silver nanoparticles: Ultrasonic wave assisted synthesis, optical characterization and surface area studies

Silver nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by the sonochemical route using sodium borohydride and sodium citrate as the reducing agents. The effect of the reducing agents on the particle size and morphology has been studied by carrying out the two reactions at the same ultrasound frequency (20 KHz). The strong reducing agent (NaBH₄) produced spherical silver nanoparticles of sizes 10 nm whereas sodium citrate led to much smaller silver nanoparticles of ~ 3 nm diameter. Powder X-ray diffraction studies reveal a high degree of crystallinity and monophasic silver particles. UV-Visible studies show the presence of a surface plasmon band at 405 nm. However the reflectance spectra give a broad band between 340 and 360 nm which is characteristic for the quasi-spherical silver nanoparticles. The specific surface area was found to be 2.6 and 13.1 m²/g and the pore radius was found to be 15.2 and 12.3 Å for silver nanoparticles obtained by the sodium borohydride and sodium citrate reduction respectively.     

Protective agent-free synthesis of Ni–Ag core–shell nanoparticles

Ni–Ag core–shell nanoparticles have been prepared by successive hydrazine reduction in ethylene glycol in the absence of protective agents. TEM analysis indicated the product was very fine and the thickness of Ag nanoshells could be controlled by the added silver nitrate concentration. The analyses of electron diffraction pattern and XRD revealed that both Ni cores and Ag shells had a fcc structure. The surface composition analysis by XPS indicated that Ni cores were fully covered by Ag nanoshells. Because of the absence of protective agent, the appropriate nickel concentration for the coating of Ag nanoshells should be less than 1.0 mM to avoid particle agglomeration. The product possessed the surface character of Ag and the magnetic property of Ni, and may have many potential applications in optical, magnetic, catalytic, biochemical, and biomedical fields.     

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using marine polysaccharide: Study of in-vitro antibacterial activity

The present contribution deals with one pot method for synthesis of silver nanoparticles through green route using sulfated polysaccharide isolated from marine red algae (Porphyra vietnamensis). The obtained silver nanoparticles showed surface plasmon resonance centered at 404 nm with average particle size measured to be 13 ± 3 nm. FTIR spectra revealed the involvement of sulfate moiety of polysaccharide for reduction of silver nitrate. The capping of anionic polysaccharide on the surface of nanoparticles was confirmed by zeta potential measurement (−35.05 mV) and is responsible for the electrostatic stability. The silver nanoparticles were highly stable at wide range of pH (2-10) and electrolyte concentration (up to 10⁻² M of NaCl). The dose dependent effect of synthesized silver nanoparticles revealed strong antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria as compared to gram positive bacteria.     

A comparative study of eco-friendly silver nanoparticles synthesis using Prunus domestica plum extract and sodium citrate as reducing agents

Through the current comparative study, colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized with various morphologies and sizes using Prunus domestica (P-dom) extract and sodium citrate as green and chemical reducing agents, respectively. AgNPs were synthesized employing different concentrations of the reducing agents in an aqueous solution at various pH values (3–10) and temperatures (25–85 °C). The UV–visible absorption spectrum indicated characteristic SPR peaks of AgNPs at 380–450 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed aqueous-soluble polyols (such as glycosides, phenols, and flavanols) participation in Ag ions reduction to the corresponding AgNPs at various pH values. The crystallinity of AgNPs was detected by an X-ray diffractometer. Different morphologies (polygonal, oval, and spherical) of the AgNPs with varying pH values were confirmed conducting transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Average particle sizes of 16–50 nm were determined using scanning electron microscopy, TEM, and dynamic light scattering assessments for AgNPs synthesized at various reaction conditions. This study is a demonstration for a facile, cheap, and eco-friendly stimuli-sensitive preparation of the AgNPs.     

Absorption and scattering cross-section extinction values of silver nanoparticles

We determine the extinction values of silver nanoparticles as a function of their diameter for three different wavelengths (405 nm, 532 nm, and 671 nm) from the values of absorbance and their photothermal lens response. We show that for particles of small diameters (<50 nm) the extinction grows as the cube of the diameter for all three wavelengths. For larger particles the extinction determined from absorbance exhibits a sixth order dependence on the diameters for 532 nm and 671  nm. This kind of behavior is typical of scattering processes that should dominate for large particles. For 405 nm the plasmonic resonant absorption dominates over scattering making difficult the observation of the sixth order dependence even for particles larger than 50 nm. The absorption cross-section measured by the photothermal method does not show the sixth order dependence. It depends on the cube of the particle’s diameter for all nanoparticles confirming the scattering free character of this absorption technique and validating the results of the absorbance experiment.     

A facile synthetic route to aqueous dispersions of silver nanoparticles

Stable aqueous dispersions of silver nanoparticles have been synthesized from an organometallic precursor dissolved in an organic phase. Hydrogen gas is used to reduce the precursor to form silver nanoparticles which spontaneously transfer into an immiscible aqueous phase where they are stabilized. This route provides a simple pathway for the preparation of aqueous nanoparticle solutions and avoids production of the inorganic ions that are usually associated with aqueous methods. The effectiveness of a variety of aqueous stabilizing agents is evaluated. All products show plasmon absorption bands characteristic of silver nanoparticles and transmission electron microscopy reveals most particles to be below 40 nm in diameter.     

Zephyranthes candida flower extract mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles for biological applications

The development of biologically active nanoparticles (NPs) has played a prominent role in medicinal, pharmaceuticals and bio-nanotechnology fields. Phytosynthesis is a simple, reproducible, and effective method to produce highly stable metal nanoparticles. In this present work, silver (Ag) nano particles (NPs) were produced using Zephyranthes candida (Z. candida) flower extract as a sustainable, cost-effective, and non-hazardous stabilizing agent. In the view of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, the face centred cubic structure of Ag NPs was revealed. From the UV–Vis spectral analysis, the formations of Ag NPs were further confirmed through surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at the highest absorbance (λ_max) of 418 nm. FT-IR represents the spectra that reveal the presence of diverse functional groups along with their vibrational modes present in Ag NPs and Z.candida flower extract. SEM and TEM denote the formation of spherical morphology of Ag NPs. Furthermore, EDX and XPS spectra confirmed the purity of the prepared Ag NPs. Finally, the biological studies such as anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, anticancer confirm the bioactivity of the synthesized Zephyranthes Candida mediated Ag NPs.     

Tuning photoluminescence of ZnS nanoparticles by silver

We report the results of investigation of the interaction of silver with presynthesized ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) that was stabilized by cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The photoluminescence properties of ZnS NPs were followed in the presence of Ag⁺ ions, Ag NPs and by the synthesis of Ag@ZnS core-shell nanoparticles. We observed that CTAB stabilized ZnS NPs emitted broadly in the region from 350–450 nm, when excited by 309 nm light. In the presence of Ag⁺ ions the emission peak intensity up to 400 nm was reduced, while two new and stronger peaks at 430 nm and 550 nm appeared. Similar results were obtained when Ag NPs solution was added to ZnS solution. However, when Ag@ZnS NPs were synthesized, the emission in the 350–450 nm region was much weaker in comparison to that at 540 nm, which itself appeared at a wavelength shorter than that of Ag⁺ ion added ZnS NPs. The observations have been explained by the presence of interstitial sulfur and Zn²⁺, especially near the surface of the nanocrystals and their interaction with various forms of silver. In addition, our observations suggest that Ag⁺ ions diffuse into the lattice of the preformed ZnS NPs just like the formation of Ag⁺ doped ZnS NPs and thus changes the emission characteristics. We also have pursued similar experiments with addition of Mn²⁺ ions to ZnS and observed similar results of emission characteristics of Mn²⁺ doped ZnS NPs. We expect that results would stimulate further research interests in the development of fluoremetric metal ion sensors based on interaction with quantum dots.