Synthesis of Ag nanospheres particles in ethylene glycol by electrochemical-assisted polyol process

The synthesis of monodispersed Ag nanosphere particles from silver nitrite in ethylene glycol at room temperature essentially promoted with the use of an electrochemical method was demonstrated. Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) behaves electrochemically stable and facilitates the formation of well-defined Ag nanospheres of average size in the range of ∼11 nm. Further characterization by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image and nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED) pattern indicate that the growth direction of Ag nanosphere particles is the 〈1 1 1〉 direction. The time evolution of absorption spectra by UV–Vis spectroscopy illustrates that silver nanoparticles in the electrolyte increase rapidly upon electrochemical process.