Optimization of Nanosized Silver Particle Synthesis via Experimental Design

Abstract

Highly dispersed silver nanoparticles could be used as catalysts, as staining pigments for glasses and ceramics, as antimicrobial materials, in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, as transparent conductive coatings, in electronics, etc. Consequently, the versatility of such particles provides strong incentives to the development of a systematic way to produce their dispersions. In this work, the optimization of the synthesis of nanosized silver particles by chemical reduction using formaldehyde in aqueous solution was studied. Effects of the possible processing variables such as the reaction temperature T, the mole ratio of [formaldehyde]/[AgNO3], [NaOH]/[AgNO3], the weight ratio of PVP/AgNO3, and the molecular weight (MW) of protective agent PVP (Polyvinyl−pyrrolidone) were considered. The data-driven model on the basis of the 44 designed experimental runs provided us the optimal conditions for closely achieving the product with the specified mean particle size and conversion of silver nitrate.

Mechanical performance of heat treated 319 alloys as a function of alloying and aging parameters

“…Magnesium has a negative effect on the fracture elongation (%El) of the Sr-modified B alloy (alloy C) due to Mg-Sr interactions. This is in agreement with observations reported by Samuel and Samuel [11]. In the Mg-Sr-Ti-containing alloy, alloy D, elongation (%El) values of as-cast, solution-treated, T5-aged, and T6-aged alloy samples are observed to be higher compared to those for the corresponding alloy C samples, due to the grain refinement brought about by the addition of Ti (cf.…”

“…Thus, the smaller the value of P, the more significant is the corresponding coefficient term. The significance of the data was judged by in proportion to its P-value being closer to zero (0.00) [11]. For a 95% confidence level the P-value should be less than or equal to 0.05 for the effect to be statistically significant [11].…”

“…This method is both time and cost expensive due to the great number of experiments required. Furthermore, it does not take into consideration the interaction between the selected factors, thus the apparent optimum experimental result may not correspond with the actual one [11]. The two-level factorial experimental designs has been used to overcome these disadvantages, where factorial experimental designs are developed that allow measuring not only the main effect of each parameter, but also the interaction effects among all the parameters, where that latter may often be important for successful system optimization [12].…”

Conductive Nanomaterials for Printed Electronics

“…Nonionic amphiphilic polymers, which contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic components and are capable of interacting with both metal NPs and a dispersion medium, are the most effective steric stabilizers. Among them, poly( N ‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP) is the most frequently used for stabilizing metal NPs in various liquids and in Ag‐ and Cu‐based ink formulations . This polymer strongly interacts with metal NPs through the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group …”

Metal-based Inkjet Inks for Printed Electronics

“…The most frequently used is poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) of various molecular weights, which exhibits a highly effective protective function in both organic and aqueous media. PVP has been shown to be an effective stabilizer of aqueous dispersions of Ag and Cu NPs [67,79,[93][94][95][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108] as well as an effective stabilizer of Ag and Cu NPs in organic solvents [69,101,109] and especially in polyol synthesis [61,77,78,110]. The polyol method, while using PVP as a stabilizer, was utilized in the preparation of Ag and Cu NPs (size range of 40-50 nm) as precursors of metal-based conductive inks [111][112][113][114][115].…”