Synthesis and Characterization of Sol–Gel Prepared Silver Nanoparticles

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) have been successfully prepared using sol–gel method by annealing the sample at 550°C for 30 min. The SNPs were not confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis when the annealing temperature was considered at 450°C. They were also not confirmed without calcination of the sample. The physical mechanism of silver clusters formation in the densified silica matrix with respect to thermal treatment has been understood. The presence of silver metal in the silica matrix was confirmed by XRD analysis and TEM image of the samples. The average size of nanoparticles dispersed in silica matrix was determined as 10.2 nm by the XRD technique. The synthesized nanocomposites were also characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy with a peak in the absorption spectra at around 375 nm. The distribution of particle size has been reported here in the range from 8 nm to 25 nm by TEM observations of the sample prepared at 550°C. The spherically smaller size (≈10 nm) SNPs have reported the surface plasmons resonance (SPR) peak less than or near to 400 nm due to blue-shifting and effect of local refractive index. Without annealing the silica samples the absorption spectra does not show any peak around 375 nm. The FTIR spectroscopy of the three types of samples prepared at different temperatures (room temperature, 450°C and 550°C) has also been reported. This spectra have provided the identification of different chemical groups in the prepared samples. It has been predicted that the size of SNPs by XRD, UV-Visible and TEM results have agreed well with each other. It may be concluded that formation of SNPs is a function of annealing temperature.