Citation:

VARMA, R. S. AND M. N. NADAGOUDA. BULK AND TEMPLATE-FREE SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOWIRES USING CAFFEINE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Presented at 234th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19 - 23, 2007.

Impact/Purpose:

To inform the public.

Description:

A simple eco-friendly one-pot method is described to synthesize bulk quantities of nanowires of silver (Ag) using caffeine without the need of reducing agent, surfactants, and/or large amounts of insoluble templates. Chemical reduction of silver salts with caffeine dramatically changes the morphology of the resulting nanowires diameter ranging from 50 nm to 100 nm and micron in length. There have been major advances in synthesizing 1D nanostructures of nobel nanometals due to their extraordinary properties when compared 2D materials and various methods are reported. Strategies to address mounting environmental concerns with current approaches include the use of environmentally benign solvents, biodegradable polymers, and non toxic chemicals. In the synthesis of metal nanoparticles by reduction of the corresponding metal ion salt solutions, there are three areas of opportunity to engage in green chemistry: (i) choice of solvent, (ii) the reducing agent employed, and (iii) the capping agent (or dispersing agent). In this area there has also been increasing interest in identifying environmentally friendly materials that are multifunctional. For example, the caffeine used in this study functions both as a reducing and capping agent for Ag nanostructures. In addition to its high water solubility, low toxicity and biodegradability, caffeine is the most widely used behaviorally active drug in the world. The Ag nanostructures were characterised using UV specrtoscopy, transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

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