Nanoscale Zero-valent Silver and Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles: Facile Synthesis and Characterization

We herein report a direct and facile hydrothermal method for the preparation of zero-valent silver nanoparticles using a mixture of ascorbic acid/starch as a reducing agent. The average crystallite size of the prepared Ag0 nanoparticles was ca. 46.7 nm. The zero-valent silver nano-products were characterized by using FT-IR, FE-SEM, and XRD analyses. In addition, this work shows an improved synthesis of graphene oxide nanoparticles. The average crystallite size of the prepared graphene-oxide nanoparticles was ca. 6.0nm. The graphene oxide nanoparticles were also characterized by using FT-IR, FE-SEM, and XRD analyses.