Solubility of Ag NPs can affect their toxicity and persistence in the environment. We measured the aqueous solubility of eight Ag NPs having particle diameters from 5 to 80 nm that were synthesized using various methods, and with different coatings including polyvinylpyrrolidone and gum Arabic. The size of the Ag NPs was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The local structure, crystal lattice parameters and structure of the Ag NPs were determined by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and synchrotron-based total X-ray scattering and pair distribution function analysis. Aqueous solubility of the Ag NPs was found to be correlated with particle size based on the TEM sizes as predicted by the modified Kelvin equation (Fig.1). Solubility was relativley unaffected by the synthesis method and coating compared to particle size. The surface tension of Ag NPs was found to be ~ 1 J/m2, which is expected for bulk face centered cubic silver.Figure 1.  Correlation between Ln Sr/Sbulk and 1/TEM diameter of 8 Ag NPs measured in this study, R2 = 0.993.

Effect of nanoparticle size on the aqueous solubility of polymer-coated silver nanoparticles as predicted by the modified Kelvin's equation

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.