Formation of Silver Nanowires in Aqueous Solutions of a Double-Hydrophilic Block Copolymer

Synthesis and applications of polystyrene-block-poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) copolymers

“…Furthermore, several experimental and theoretical studies have been reported in relation to the surface modification by block copolymers in order to promote specific characteristics [12][13][14][15] . Zhang et al [16] used poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PEO-b-PMMA) copolymer as a template for the synthesis of silver nanowires in an aqueous solution. In this system, the PMMA block reduces silver ions and PEO block promotes the nanoparticle dispersion in water.…”

Environment-sensitive stabilisation of silver nanoparticles in aqueous solutions

“…Nowadays, many researchers also employ polymer-assisted fabrication routes to prevent the particles from undergoing self-aggregation and chemical reactions; that is, to overcome stability problems related to the high surface energy of inorganic nanoparticles [1,2]. Metal precursors (or preformed nanoparticles) may be loaded or 'trapped' into already formed polymeric micelles, but alternatively, they may also be used to induce micellisation of the otherwise soluble block copolymers [2][3][4][5][6]. Via nucleation and growth processes within the composite nanoparticles (CNPs), the initially formed primary metal atoms may further aggregate into clusters, resulting in either one single colloid per micellar core or into several small colloids within a micellar core [7].…”

“…Recently, also bimetallic colloids have been formed in solution [8]. In general, the formation of the metal nanoparticles from the metal precursor typically involves the addition of a reducing agent (e.g., LiAlH 4 , NaBH 4 , H 2 N-NH 2 , LiBEt 3 H, or H 2 ) and semiconductor nanoparticles can be obtained by addition of H 2 S to the metal precursors to form metal sulfides [1][2][3]6,9,10]. Various applications have been suggested for the resulting hybrid organic-inorganic particles, including their potential as quantum dots (i.e., fluorescent nanoparticles) [1,8,9], catalysts [1,6,11], particle growth modifiers [5,12], and MRI contrast agents [13][14][15].…”

“…Examples include Au-and Pt-NP formation in aqueous mixtures of P2VP-b-PEO and a wide variety of Au and Pt-NP precursors [6,20], comicellisation of c-Fe 2 O 3 and PTEA-bPAAm [13], and La(OH) 3 -NP formation in aqueous solutions containing La 3+ ions and PAA-b-PAAm copolymers [5,21,22]. Inspired by the spontaneous formation of silver nanowires in the presence of PMAA-b-PEO [4], i.e., without addition of a reducing agent, and the numerous studies on NP formation in the presence of P2VP and P4VP-containing copolymers (exhibiting a rather high affinity for many metal precursors due to the formation of coordination bonds between the metal ions and the pyridinium segments [6,7,23]), we decided to study Ag-NP formation in C3Ms consisting of poly(N-methyl-2-vinyl pyridinium iodide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide), P2MVP 38 -b-PEO 211 and poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(isopropyl acrylamide), PAA 55 -b-PNIPAAm 88 . As suggested by Zhang et al [4], the presence of PEO should ensure the spontaneous reduction of Ag + to Ag through oxidation of the oxyethylene groups, while the polyelectrolyte segments should coordinate with the Ag + ions, so that the C3Ms may serve as a template for the spontaneous formation of silver nanoparticles.…”

Synthesis of Ag-PVA and Ag-PVA/PET-s20 composites by supercritical CO2 method and study of silver nanoparticle growth

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] In the several works with different preparation methods reported, the silver precursor, a silver salt, is reduced in solution in the presence of a capping agent. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The polyol process has been known for decades as a generic route for the synthesis of metal colloids. [12][13][14] It concerns the preparation of metallic powders, essentially of cobalt, nickel, copper, and precious metals, by reduction of inorganic compounds in liquid polyol, which acts both as a solvent and a reducing agent, as stated by Blin et al 15 In recent works on the polyol reaction mechanism, Shengming et al 16,17 showed that polyol is oxidized during the process and produces CO 2 molecules, which are detected as carbonate ions.…”