The formation of monodisperse spherical silver particles

Abstract

The process of formation of monodisperse spherical silver particles in gelatin-stabilized ammonia-tartrate electroless deposition solution has been investigated. The production of monodisperse spherical silver particles, 150–420 nm in size, was shown to be feasible, the particle diameter depending on pH of the solution. The spherical silver particles, as evidenced by TEM, optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction data, were comprised of 10–15 nm sized particles, and hence, were formed by the colloidal aggregation mechanism. The optical spectra of the sols largely composed of monodisperse silver particles over 300 nm in size demonstrate the absorption band in the region of silver plasmon absorption ( λ max = 420 nm), which is characteristic of colloidal particles.