Polymer stabilized noble metal colloids for catalytic and biomedical applications

Abstract

The nanoparticles of noble metal have attracted enormous interest due to their high catalytic, optical, magnetic and antimicrobial properties. Controlled growth and stabilization of these nanoparticles are essential for their diverse applications. In this work, platinum, and silver nanoparticles are grown onto ordered non-fluoro ionomers and dendrimer for catalytic and antimicrobial applications. This paper thus provides insight on the utilization of dendrimer compartment or ionic domains of non-fluoro ionomers for stabilizing these nanoparticles. UV/vis and TEM results confirm the size and the size distribution of the formed particles. In both cases, ionic domains or the dendrimers result in the stabilization of the colloids. TEM images indicate that platinum nanoparticles grown on ordered non-fluoro ionomers results in highly dispersed particles of small size 2-3 nm, while in dendrimer 8-10 nm silver colloids are formed. All of the synthesized dendrimer based silver complexes are proved to be effective antimicrobial agents in vitro and the platinum nanoparticles exhibit specific electrochemical activities.