Surfactant assisted self-assembly of Ag+ containing nanocrystals and their facet dependent photocatalytic activity

Abstract

This work demonstrates a general route for synthesis of nanocatalysts containing silver ions using surfactants. A non-ionic surfactant Tween 80 has been used to initiate the nucleation and thereafter control the growth of silver nitroprusside (SINP) and silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) nanoparticles. Hexamine was added to study the influence of basic media on particle growth. Ag₃PO₄ nanoparticles with a size distribution of 30–50 nm and SINP nanoparticles with a size distribution of 30–40 nm have been obtained. A leaf-like morphology with exposed (11−1) and (022) facets has been obtained in nano SINP treated with hexamine. Evaluation of the Mulliken atomic charges by TDDFT calculations revealed maximum negative charge in the FeC₅N cluster thus confirming its maximum localization of charges owing to the MLCT effect. The photocatalytic and electrocatalytic properties of the developed samples have been evaluated to establish the benefits of facet-tuning in nanoparticles. Thus the novelty of this work lies in the facet engineering of a coordinated metal complex (SINP) harnessing the MLCT effect to optimize photocatalytic activity.