Characteristics of Silver Nanoparticles in Different pH Values

Stability of silver nanoparticles strongly influences the potential of their application. The literature shows wide possibilities of nanoparticles preparation, which has significantly impact on their properties. Therefore, the improvement of AgNPs preparation plays a key role in the case of their practical use. The pH values of the environment are one of the important factors, which directly influences stability of AgNPs. We present a comparing study of the silver nanoparticles prepared by „bottom-up“ methods over by chemical synthesis and biosynthesis using AgNO₃ (0.29 mM) solution. For the biosynthesis of the silver nanoparticles, the green freshwater algae Parachlorella kessleri and Citrus limon extracts were used as reducing and stabilizing agents. Chemically synthesized AgNPs were performed using sodium citrate (0.5%) as a capping agent and 0.01% gelatine as a reducing agent. The formation and long term stability of those silver nanoparticles synthesized either biologically and chemically were clearly observed by solution colour changes and confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The pH values of formed nanoparticle solutions were 3 and 5.8 for biosynthesized AgNPs using extract of Citrus limon and Parachlorella kessleri, respectively and 7.2 for chemically prepared AgNPs solution using citrate. The SEM as a surface imaging method was used for the characterization of nanoparticle shapes, size distribution and also for resolving different particle sizes. These micrographs confirmed the presence of dispersed and aggregated AgNPs with various shapes and sizes.