Silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-modified titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocomposites have attracted great attention for public health applications due to its photocatalytic properties and antibacterial functions. However, obtaining such high-quality nanocomposite materials on a large scale is a challenge in chemical synthesis with consideration for cost effectiveness and environmental friendliness.  In this research, different types of AgNP-anchored TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by reducing silver nitrate with citric acid, which is found in citrus fruits. The citrate functions as a biocompatible reducing agent to convert silver nitrate to silver particles, and as a chemical bridge to provide the anchoring chemical bonds directly between the interfaces of silver nanoparticles and titanium dioxide nanoparticles. We studied the reaction time versus AgNP size on the TiO2 nanoparticles. Due to the confinement effect of the anchoring of Ag seeds on TiO2 nanoparticles, the size of the silver nanoparticles increases with reaction time in a controllable manner. In our experiments, high quality AgNPs-anchored TiO2 nanocomposites can be obtained after optimizing the reaction conditions, and it is easy to synthesize nanocomposites in large scale. Characterizations of those AgNP-modified TiO2 nanocomposites by UV-visible and Raman spectroscopies to study the optical properties and chemical components were performed. SEM, EDS and TEM were used to observe the AgNP-TiO2 nanoparticle morphology, and to confirm the element compositions. These high quality AgNPs-TiO2 nanocomposites have various applications for public health, especially for antimicrobial applications and environmental protection such as in photo-catalytically decomposing microplastics.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticle-anchored titanium dioxide nanocomposites for different applications

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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