Simple and environmentally friendly preparation and size control of silver nanoparticles using an inhomogeneous system with silver-containing glass powder

Abstract

A simple, environmentally friendly method for preparing highly size-controlled spherical silver nanoparticles was developed that involved heating a mixture of silver-containing glass powder and an aqueous solution of glucose. The stabilizing agent for silver nanoparticles was found to be caramel, which was generated from glucose when preparing the nanoparticles. The particle size was independent of the reaction time, but it increased proportionally with the square root of the glucose concentration in the range 0.25–8.0 wt% (corresponding to particle sizes of 3.48 ± 1.83 to 20.0 ± 2.76 nm). Difference of the generation mechanism of silver nanoparticles between this inhomogeneous system and a system in which Ag+ was homogeneously dispersed was discussed.