Luminescent, ferromagnetic silver glyconanoparticles: synthesis to annealing-induced substrate specific transformation†
Abstract
A one-pot, economically viable ‘green’ synthesis of silver glyconanoparticles is reported with sugar cane juice. The morphology and size of the particles could be tuned by changing reaction conditions like the temperature, pH, concentration etc. Sugar and non-sugar biomolecules in sugar cane acted as reducing and/or capping agents in the synthesis. These glyconanoparticles exhibited exceptional photoluminescence and ferromagnetism at room temperature. This general route can be employed for the synthesis of other noble metal nanoparticles. Annealing of silver nanoparticles on underlying polymer fibers yielded unprecedented hollow helical structures as opposed to rods obtained on silicon wafers. A surface-assisted self-assembly mechanism has been proposed to explain the peculiar morphology of annealed structures. Photoluminescence of the as-annealed structures has also been demonstrated. These hollow and solid rods have potential applications in the fabrication of nano-circuits and optoelectronics.