Electrochemical Determination of Nanoparticle Size: Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study for Matrixless Silver Nanoparticles

A chronoamperometric procedure for the preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aqueous systems with no extra added stabilizing agents is presented. The uniqueness of the prepared nanoparticle systems was explored by theoretical considerations. The proposed theoretical model predicts the structural parameters of the obtained nanoparticle system. The parameters required for the calculations (the zeta potential, conductivity, and effective diffusion coefficient of ionic silver) are available from independently performed measurements. Chronoamperometry at a microelectrode was employed for the evaluation of the effective diffusion coefficient of ionic silver present in the AgNP solution. The values of AgNP radii predicted by the theoretical model for the selected samples were compared to those obtained by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) methods. Because of the high polydispersity of the prepared nanoparticle samples, DLS results were overestimated in comparison to both: the TEM results and some theoretical predictions. By correcting the theoretical predictions by the Debye length, the calculated nanoparticle sizes become comparable (within their expanded uncertainties) to those measured in TEM images, especially for the nanosystems at early stages of their formation via the electrosynthesis process.

Automated summary

A chronoamperometric method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles in aqueous solution without adding stabilizing agents is proposed. A theoretical model is developed which predicts the structural parameters of the synthesized nanoparticles. The efficiency of the method is confirmed by comparing the predicted particle sizes with the results obtained from TEM and DLS measurements. The study highlights the importance of considering the polydispersity of the nanoparticle samples in the analysis.