Synthesis of silver nanocatalyst in presence of poly(ethylene glycol) and its application for electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

The synthesis of powdered Ag nanoparticles in presence of poly(ethylene glycol) as reducing agent and stabilizer in aqueous medium is reported. The structure and properties of the Ag nanoparticles have been characterised by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray data. XRD study shows that the particles are crystalline in nature with face centered cubic geometry. Formation of stable silver nanoparticles gives mostly spherical particles with diameter in the range of 12–30 nm. The catalytic activity of the nanocrystalline AgNPs, for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide has been studied at the surface of glassy carbon electrode modified with Ag nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate) (AgNPs-PMMA/GCE) prepared by casting of the AgNPs-PMMA solution on GCE. The sensor responds to H₂O₂ with high selectivity, good reproducibility and stability, over a linear range of 22–1700 µ<i>M</i> with a detection limit of 4.8 µ<i>M</i> using amperometry.