Electrochemical synthesis of silver nanoparticles in poly(vinyl alcohol) solution

Abstract

In this work silver/poly(vinyl alcohol), Ag/PVA, colloid dispersions were obtained by electrochemical reduction of Ag+ ions. The electrochemical synthesis of silver nanoparticles in the aqueous solutions of 5 and 10 wt. % PVA, containing 0.1 M KNO3 and 3.9 mM AgNO3, was performed at constant current density of 25 mA cm-2, and during synthesis time of 10 min. The presence of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry analysis and FTIR spectroscopy indicated the interactions between silver nanoparticles and PVA molecules. TEM analysis confirmed spherical shape of the obtained silver nanoparticles, with the mean diameter of 15 ? 9 nm.