Immobilization of Silver Nanoparticles on Silica Particles by Silver Mirror Reaction

This paper presents the synthesis of metallic silver (Ag) nanoparticles immobilized on silica (SiO 2 ) particles. Ag immobilization was carried out via the Ag mirror reaction using two types of reducing reagents: D-glucose and formaldehyde (HCHO). The effects of Ag immobilization conditions, such as Ag nitrate concentration, SiO 2 concentration, reaction time, and reducing reagent concentration, were investigated. The particle morphology is related to the ionic strength of the solution. As a result, Ag immobilization was successfully performed while minimizing the formation of large metallic Ag nanoparticles and/or the aggregation of metallic Ag nanoparticles in the HCHO system with a reaction time of 5 min and HCHO concentration of 1.5×10 -4 M, producing SiO 2 particles (92.5±7.3 nm) immobilized with metallic Ag nanoparticles 5–15 nm in size.