The formation mechanisms of silver nanoparticles using aqueous silver perchlorate solutions as precursors and sodium borohydride as reducing agent were investigated based on time-resolved
in situ experiments. This contribution addresses two important issues in colloidal science: (i) differences and analogies between growth processes of different metals such as gold and silver and (ii) the influence of a steric stabilizing agent on the growth process. The results reveal that a growth due to coalescence is a fundamental growth principle if the monomer-supplying chemical reaction is faster than the actual particle formation.
Keywords:
silver nanoparticle growth; formation mechanisms; nucleation; SAXS