Towards automation of the polyol process for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles have a substantial impact across different fields of science, such as photochemistry, energy conversion, and medicine. Among the commonly used nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles are of special interest due to their antibacterial properties and applications in sensing and catalysis. However, many of the methods used to synthesize silver nanoparticles often do not result in well-defined products, the main obstacles being high polydispersity or a lack of particle size tunability. We describe an automated approach to on-demand synthesis of adjustable particles with mean radii of 3 and 5 nm using the polyol route. The polyol process is a promising route for silver nanoparticles e.g., to be used as reference materials. We characterised the as-synthesized nanoparticles using small-angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering and further methods, showing that automated synthesis can yield colloids with reproducible and tuneable properties.

Highly Emitting Perovskite Nanocrystals with 2-Year Stability in Water through an Automated Polymer Encapsulation for Bioimaging

“…Improving the stability of perovskite NCs in water could also boost their practical application in, for example, electrocatalysis, light emitting diodes (LEDs), lasing, and inks for printable electronic devices. In parallel, the development of automated procedures that enable the rapid fabrication of perovskites NCs in water is crucial for both screening purposes and for scaling up their production, as demonstrated in other systems, − including the robust preparation of NCs/polymer nanobeads where small reaction volumes are needed. , Compared to bench protocols, such routines are also more cost-effective since less time and less manual lab work are required.…”

The Role of Silver Nanoparticles in Electrochemical Sensors for Aquatic Environmental Analysis

“…Regarding the synthesis medium, reduction processes have been studied both in aqueous solutions [ 51 ] and in organic media [ 52 ]. Polyol synthesis represents a particular route of preparation in which a polyol molecule serves as both a reducing agent and a supporting medium [ 53 ]. Acetate [ 54 ] or perchlorate [ 55 ] salts of silver may be employed as nanoparticle precursors, but silver(I) nitrate [ 51 , 56 ] is by far the most commonly used due to its low cost and chemical stability.…”

Silver-Based Surface Plasmon Sensors: Fabrication and Applications

“…The synthesis can be automated based on the polyol process. Wolf et al [ 73 ] proposed an automated synthesis method to stably synthesize AgNPs with an average radius of 3 nm and 5 nm.…”