Acrylonitrile-Induced Synthesis of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Stabilized Selenium Nanoparticles

A new simple wet chemical method has been developed to synthesize selenium nanoparticles (size 50 to 100 nm), by reaction of sodium selenosulphate precursor with acrylonitrile monomer, under ambient conditions. Polyvinyl alcohol has been used to stabilize the selenium nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles can be separated from their sol by using a high-speed centrifuge and can be redispersed in aqueous medium with an ultrasonicator. UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques have been used to characterize the synthesized selenium nanoparticles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis has shown formation of beta-hydroxy propionitrile as a byproduct. On the basis of these findings, a mechanism has been proposed for the formation of selenium nanoparticles and beta-hydroxy propionitrile.