For the very first
time, a detailed kinetic study for the preparation
of silver nanoparticles (silver NPs) by neuroleptic agent gabapentin
(GBP) in the absence of a stabilizer has been reported in this investigation.
This paper is devoted to the preparation of silver nanoparticles by
a chemical reduction method in which gabapentin acts as both a reductant
and a stabilizer, and AgNO3 is used as a source of Ag+ ions and NaOH for maintaining the alkaline medium. A UV–visible
spectrophotometer is used to monitor the progress of the reaction
kinetics in an aqueous medium by changing the concentration of different
variables such as AgNO3, NaOH, and gabapentin at 40 °C.
It is found that the reaction rate follows a pseudo-first-order reaction.
The thermodynamic activation parameters were also studied at five
different temperatures (303, 308, 313, 318, and 323 K) and used in
the support of the proposed mechanistic scheme for the formation of
silver nanoparticles. The prepared silver nanoparticles were characterized
using different techniques: UV–visible spectrophotometry, Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron
microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron
microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. The average particle size
was observed in the range of 5–45 nm.