Silver nanoparticles protected by phosphine and sulfur donor ligands: synthesis, characterization, and investigation of dye degradation capacity

Abstract

In this study, a procedure for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using molecular silver(I) complexes as precursors was investigated. A simple method involving the reduction of molecular silver-phosphine complexes produced silver nanoparticles approximately 50 nm in size. The nanoparticle samples were characterized using a combination of electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis techniques. These nanoparticles were employed as catalysts to degrade common dyes, and the initial results revealed excellent efficacy of the silver nanoparticles in the dye degradation process.

Graphical abstract