Nanoparticles of silver powder obtained by mechano-chemical process

Abstract

The silver (Ag) powder was synthesised in a mechano-chemical (MC) process by inducing a solid-state displacement reaction between silver chloride (AgCl) and copper (Cu). The AgCl and Cu were ground in atmosphere conditions using a planetary ball mill. The reaction caused the mixture of AgCl and Cu to change the composition of the mixture, such as Ag and copper chloride (CuCl). CuCl was separated from MC product by leaching with ammonium hydroxide and we obtained Ag powder as the final product. Moreover, ascorbic acid (C6H8O6) was used as the additive to improve dispersion of Ag powder during MC process. The ground powders, formed in the presence of additive, were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The XRD determined that the reaction between AgCl and Cu was complete in almost all the experiments carried out. SEM examinations revealed that the size of the particles in the synthesised metallic Ag powder was in the range of 30–300 nm.