Solvothermal synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles

Among the various nanoparticles reported for commercial applications, considerable interest has been generated by the use of silver nanoparticles. Owning to extremely small size, silver nanoparticles exhibit enhanced properties when compared with the bulk material. In this research work, silver nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of silver salt with a reducing agent by a solvothermal method using different solvent mediums such as ethanol, hexane, toluene and acetone with water. The prepared silver nanoparticles were characterized systematically by X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analysis and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed the formation of pure silver phase and nano-sized particles. Among the different solvent mediums used, the silver nanoparticles prepared by hexane and water as solvent mixture resulted in very low particle size.