Nanoparticle-Embedded Polymer: In Situ Synthesis, Free-Standing Films with Highly Monodisperse Silver Nanoparticles and Optical Limiting

Abstract

A simple and efficient protocol is developed for the in situ generation of highly monodisperse and small (2−3 nm) silver nanoparticles in poly(vinyl alcohol) film and the fabrication of their free-standing films. Efficient optical limiting with these nanoparticle-embedded polymer thin films is demonstrated.

In vitro synthesis of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles by mangroves, saltmarshes and plants of coastal origin

“…The present study proved that the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles could be enhanced by PVA (Tables 1 and 2). PVA is frequently used as a particle stabiliser in chemical syntheses of metal colloids, since it prevents agglomeration and precipitation of the particles (Porel et al, 2005;Mbhele et al, 2003). If the metal colloids coagulate their antibacterial activities are poor and this problem can be overcome by encapsulating metal nanoparticles with polymer materials (Mbhele et al, 2003).…”

Characterization of a silica-PVA hybrid for high density and stable silver dissolution

“…The reduction can be carried out through electrical processes, where a current directly reduces the ions [11]. Heating [22,23] and laser irradiation with pulse lengths ranging from nanoseconds to femtoseconds [24,25] can also activate the silver. These processes cause chemical and structural changes in the host insulator, which produce free electrons that reduce the metal ions.…”

In-situ fabrication of polyacrylate–silver nanocomposite through photoinduced tandem reactions involving eosin dye

“…[7] Such nanowires can be synthesized by either solution-phase methods using capping reactants [17,18] or by templating methods using inorganic porous material, [19] polymer membranes, [20,21] or block copolymer. [22] Another type of nanocomposites consists in a dispersion of metal particles into a polymeric matrix such as poly(vinyl alcohol), [23,24] poly(methyl methacrylate) [25] or poly(vinyl pyrrole) for instance. [26,27] Typically, in-situ and ex-situ methods [28][29][30] are the two main synthetic routes that lead to silver-polymer nanocomposites.…”

“…[31] In the in-situ method, metal nanoparticles are generated directly in the matrix through chemical reduction of a cationic precursor previously dissolved in the bulk. [24] Photochemical reduction by irradiating a dye sensitizer in the presence of silver ions also provides a convenient way to produce embedded nanoparticles in polymer. [21,[32][33][34][35] Moreover, a concomitant functionalization of the nanoparticles with dyes can occur, which is a valuable feature for applications in photochemical solar cells.…”