Silver nanoparticles now stand amongst the most extensively produced nanomaterials, in large part due to their known wide-spectrum antimicrobial properties. Noble metal nanoparticles have also been integrated towards the development of a broad range of biosensing applications, which utilize their strong optical sensitivity via surface plasmon resonance. Here, silver nanoparticles and gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles were prepared via well-established modifications of the Turkevich method. Kinetics of silver nanoparticle formation, silver shell formation, and/or silver ion consumption were measured both by indirect (surface plasmon resonance/UV-visible spectroscopy) and other, more direct methods (ion selective potentiometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy). The resulting kinetic curves were fitted to the Finke-Watzky 2-step model of slow, continuous nucleation (A -&gt; B, rate constant k1) and fast, autocatalytic growth (A + B -&gt; 2 B, rate constant k2); average rate constants for nucleation and growth were extracted from the curvefits. Numerical values of the nucleation and growth rate constants measured by indirect (surface plasmon resonance) versus other, more direct methods were analyzed. The advantages and limitations of each type of experimental probe were examined and assessed.

Kinetics of self-assembly: Experimental probes of noble metal nanoparticle formation

256th National Meeting (2018)

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