Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles from the Decomposition of Silver(I) [bis(alkylthio)methylene]malonate Complexes

Silver(I) [bis(alkylthio)methylene]malonates were synthesized from the reaction of silver nitrate and potassium [bis(alkylthio)methylene]malonates. The structures of the Ag complexes were characterized with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and elemental analysis. Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained from the decomposition of the Ag complexes in 1,2-dichlorobenzene at 110∘C without an additional surfactant. The average sizes of the Ag NPs are in the range of 5.1-6.3 nm and could be controlled by varying the length of the alkyl chain. The optical properties, crystalline structure and surface composition of Ag NPs were characterized with ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA).