Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles by a Sonochemical Method

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature by a sonochemical method with silver stearate, hindered phenol and triphenylphosphine as silver precursor, reducing agent and reduction accelerator, respectively. The factors influencing the formation of the silver nanoparticles were investigated, and the obtained nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The results show that under certain conditions Ag nanoparticles have good stability and uniform size. They have an average particle size of 6.8 nm with a narrow distribution from 6.2 nm to 7.4 nm. After the solvent evaporation, closed-packed two-dimensional silver nano-arrays are formed on the copper TEM grid. The possible mechanism for the formation of silver nanoparticles is proposed.