Ceramics-Silikáty 55 (4) 326-330 (2011)

Estimation of silver nanoparticles size in SiO₂ sol-gel layers by use of UV-VIS spectroscopy

M. Novotný, J. Matoušek

Silica glass layers containing silver nanoparticles were prepared by the sol-gel method. The layers were deposited on a glass substrate by the dip-coating method, dried and heat treated at various temperatures. The average silver particle size was determined from absorption spectra according to Mie’s theory. A good correlation was found between the calculated values and analysis of HRTEM images. A very narrow size distribution was obtained by this procedure. The average particle size of silver particles fell between 1 and 2 nm for dried samples; in case of glasses treated at 500 and 550°C the size ranged between 2 and 4 nm.

Keywords: Sol-gel, Layers, Silver, Nanoparticles, Silica, Glass