TY - JOUR
T1 - Silver Nanoparticle Synthesis in Glycerol by Low-Pressure Plasma-Driven Electrolysis
T2 - The Roles of Free Electrons and Photons
AU - Xu, Chi
AU - Chaudhuri, Subhajyoti
AU - Held, Julian
AU - Andaraarachchi, Himashi P.
AU - Schatz, George C.
AU - Kortshagen, Uwe R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2023/11/9
Y1 - 2023/11/9
N2 - Low-temperature plasmas in and in contact with liquids have emerged as a catalyst-free approach for the selective, electrode-free, and green synthesis of novel materials. For the synthesis of nanomaterials, short-lived solvated electrons have been proposed to be the critical reducing species, while the role of ultraviolet (UV) photons from plasma is less explored. Here, we demonstrate that UV radiation contributes ∼70% of the integral plasma effect in synthesizing silver (Ag) nanoparticles within a glycerol solution. We suggest that the UV radiation causes C-H bond cleavage of the glycerol molecules, with an experimentally and theoretically determined threshold photon energy of only 5 eV. The photon-induced dissociation leads to the formation of glycerol fragmentation radicals, causing the reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag neutrals, enabling nanoparticle formation in the liquid phase.
AB - Low-temperature plasmas in and in contact with liquids have emerged as a catalyst-free approach for the selective, electrode-free, and green synthesis of novel materials. For the synthesis of nanomaterials, short-lived solvated electrons have been proposed to be the critical reducing species, while the role of ultraviolet (UV) photons from plasma is less explored. Here, we demonstrate that UV radiation contributes ∼70% of the integral plasma effect in synthesizing silver (Ag) nanoparticles within a glycerol solution. We suggest that the UV radiation causes C-H bond cleavage of the glycerol molecules, with an experimentally and theoretically determined threshold photon energy of only 5 eV. The photon-induced dissociation leads to the formation of glycerol fragmentation radicals, causing the reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag neutrals, enabling nanoparticle formation in the liquid phase.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02342
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02342
M3 - Article
C2 - 37903417
AN - SCOPUS:85177784271
SN - 1948-7185
VL - 14
SP - 9960
EP - 9968
JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
JF - Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
IS - 44
ER -