Simple route to anchor silver nanoparticles into thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica: synthesis, characterization and electrochemical applications

Abstract

This work describes an elegant route to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) into thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica (TFS). The successful synthesis of AgNPs in TFS (Ag-TFS) is confirmed by spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. TEM images reveal the presence of distorted spherical shapes of AgNPs with 1–30 nm size in the TFS. Though the distribution of AgNPs is uniform throughout the TFS spheres, the size of the AgNPs varies. The electrocatalytic activity of Ag-TFS on the oxidation of nitrite is studied, and its determination is compared with the TFS based on differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The Ag-TFS-coated glassy carbon (GC) electrode (GC/Ag-TFS) shows stable and superior electrochemical features for nitrite oxidation over the GC/TFS electrode as studied by DPV. The linear calibration range for nitrite determination at GC/Ag-TFS is found to be 1.0 µM–20.0 mM with a sensitivity of 73 µAmM−1 cm−2 and a detection limit of 0.5 µM.