Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles by Sol-Gel Technique

In recent nanotechnology is the most promising field for the researchers. This paper describes a simple and convenient procedure for the preparation of crystalline silver nanoparticles. The aggregation of silver nanoparticles was prevented by CH3COONa in a chemical bath and then washed away, leaving crystalline silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel technique in the presence of CH3COONa and hydrazine as reducing agent in water at room temperature. The structure and grain size of prepared particles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray Diffraction. The whole experiment has been carried out at room temperature, using water as solvent and also within very less time. From XRD pattern we got the crystallinity and the position of the crystal plane of the prepared particles was similar to the standard nano silver pattern and the average size of the particles was 11nm. For SEM study it was observed that the particles are homogenous and uniform size in the nano range cracked free surfaces with regular granular shaped grains without any impurities. There was no peak in the carbonyl frequency region confirmed that sodium acetate was not present within the silver particles. From STA study, we have observed that the weight loss was negligible assured the particles were pure. Hence we will describe an excellent scope for large scale production of silver nanocrystals which will have applications in electronics and catalysis.