Effect of the surface etching on the cenospheres coating by silver nanoparticles

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Abstract
Cenospheres can be functionalized by an adequate metallic coating. A universal method to produce a metallic coating is the well-known polyol process. Both noble metals and most of the transition metals can be obtained by chemical reduction of the corresponding metal salts in presence of hot polyols. Hot ethylene glycol is typically used for the reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) to elemental silver, Ag(0). Owing to the capability of ethylene glycol to act as surface steric stabilizer, the metallic phase is obtained in form of spherical nanoparticles. Thus, when cenospheres are present during the chemical reduction of silver nitrate in presence of hot ethylene glycol, silver nanoparticles are precipitated on the cenospheres surface. Here, we have found that such precipitation is strongly influenced by the particle roughness and therefore it takes place only in the case cenospheres have been chemically etched by sodium hydroxide (NaOH) aqueous solution.

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