Spectrophotometric nonenzymatic determination of hydrogen peroxide using silver nanoparticles

A nonenzymatic method was developed for the detection and quantification of hydrogen peroxide using metallic sols obtained by the reduction of silver compounds with sodium borohydride in the presence of a surface stabilizer. These sols changed color on exposure to aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide. The nature of the stabilizer used in sol preparation affects spectral characteristics of the final product formed in the reaction with hydrogen peroxide. In the case of polyvinyl pyrrolidone, the intensity of the surface plasmon resosnance absorption band at 405 nm decreased. In using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, a signal at 519 nm appeared along with the similar decrease in the absorption band at 408 nm. The band intensity depends on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide. The described phenomena can form a basis for the development of procedures for the qualitative and quantitative determination of hydrogen peroxide in water bodies.