Optical and structural studies of PVP capped silver oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Biocompatible silver oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles have been developed using Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a capping molecule via elementary co-precipitation method resulting in a stable, efficient and pure crystal phase of silver oxide nanoparticles at room temperature. Optical, structural, morphological and compositional measurements clearly indicated that PVP plays a crucial role in the synthesis of Ag2O nanoparticles, because of better surface passivation and stability. The optical absorption measurements show clear blue shift, The photoluminescence study confirms the emission in the blue region. The results from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) evident that Ag2O nanoparticles have better crystallinity and purity, the average particle size is 18 nm. The present method of synthesis of Ag2O nanoparticles is simple, eco-friendly (non-toxic) and can be used for photocatalytic, humidity sensor and display applications.