Solvothermal preparation, and characterization, of Cu-Ag nanoparticles

Cu-Ag nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by one-pot solvothermal treatment of a mixture of AgNO3 and Cu(OAc)(2)center dot H2O in ethylene glycol solution at 180 A degrees C for 10 h. The samples were characterized by UV-visible absorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that Cu-Ag nanoparticles and a small amount of phase-separated Cu-Ag alloy nanoparticles with an average diameter of 100 +/- A 30 nm were synthesized by the solvothermal treatment procedure. The mechanism of formation is discussed.