Synthesis of silver nanoparticles by atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles are one of the most extensively used metallic nanomaterials due to their unusual physical and chemical properties as well as their promising applications in a wide range of different fields. In this study, a non-thermal atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet was used to successfully synthesize silver nanoparticles with silver nitrate as a precursor and trisodium citrate as a capping agent. The browning of the solution after only 5 min of plasma irradiation is a result of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) from the obtained silver nanoparticles. The SPR was confirmed by the presence of an absorption band in the visible range between 400 and 450 nm demonstrated in the UV–vis spectra. The effect of different chemical parameters such as the concentration of silver nitrate and the concentration of citrate on the silver nanoparticles have been studied. These nanoparticles were further characterized using transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Therefore, the plasma jet was advantageous to fast produce silver nanoparticles in friendly conditions. In addition, the used experimental setup allows further studies in different solvents conditions and with different capping agents. So, this methodology could be useful for the preparation of silver nanoparticles required for numerous applications such as bioactivity, catalysis, surface enhanced Raman scattering, and photonic.