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Coating nonfunctionalized silica spheres with a high density of discrete silver nanoparticles

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Abstract

Reducing AgNO\(_3\) by glucose at basic pH coated the surface of silica spheres were coated with a high density of hemispherical silver nanoparticles by direct reduction. The average diameter of the nanoparticles was 3.2 \(\pm \) 1 nm. A much lower silver concentration than is a standard favored heterogeneous nucleation of silver on the silica surface at the expense of homogeneous nucleation in solution. The slow growth rate of the nuclei promoted the formation of discrete silver particles rather than a continuous shell. Based on scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the surface coverage of silver seed particles was as high as 25 % at 10 °C without prior functionalization of the silica. The particles were composed of metallic silver based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. There was a sharp increase in the silver surface coverage and a decrease in the particle size when the temperature was raised from 5 to 10 °C and the amount of silica was decreased from 0.2 to 0.025 V/V%. The size was controlled by the diffusion barrier through the ion shell surrounding the silica spheres and by maintaining reaction conditions where the particles on the surface compete for silver.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Pablo Mancheno for his help with collection and analysis of XPS data. The authors also thank Lance Hubbard for his assistance collecting SEM images and for useful conversations about electrostatics in colloidal systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Az, 85721, USA

    Stephen C. Purdy

  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Az, 85721, USA

    Anthony J. Muscat

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  1. Stephen C. Purdy
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Correspondence to Anthony J. Muscat.

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Purdy, S.C., Muscat, A.J. Coating nonfunctionalized silica spheres with a high density of discrete silver nanoparticles. J Nanopart Res 18, 70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3371-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-016-3371-8

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