Irradiation- and thermoinduced synthesis of Ag nanoparticles within amphiphilic carbosilane-thioether dendrimers

We report on the preparation of new amphiphilic carbosilane-thioether dendrimers by thiol-ene chemistry and their application in the in situ formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with unusual versatility in approach. In the presence of the dendrimers, AgNPs can be prepared in either water or organic solvents, and by simply using UV irradiation or heat in the reduction step without the need for a chemical reducing agent. Monodisperse size-tunable AgNPs possessing a simple cubic crystal structure were characterized by TEM, SAED, XRD, and other techniques. Susceptibility examination of E. coli indicated strong antibacterial activity of the AgNPs in aqueous solution.