Aqueous synthesis and characterization of Ag and Ag-Au nanoparticles: addressing challenges in size, monodispersity and structure

In this paper, we demonstrate the synthesis of monodispersed silver nanoparticles (NPs) of controlled size (20.5 +/- 3.3 nm) in aqueous phase from a silver hydroxide precursor with sodium acrylate as dual reducing-capping agent. We then coat these NPs in a layer of gold with controllable thickness through a reduction-deposition process. The materials are characterized using several techniques including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that we were able to synthesize not only monodispersed Ag NPs but also core-shell Ag-Au NPs with a discrete structure, which is significant because of the challenges associated with the creation of such materials, namely the propensity of metallic Ag to be oxidized by the presence of ionic Au. The NPs are of interest for use in a wide range of potential applications, including biomedical diagnostics and biomolecular detection as well as many others.