Synthesis of silver nanoparticles for remote opening of polyelectrolyte microcapsules

Silver nanoparticles of 10, 18, and 23 nm were synthesized in aqueous medium by chemical reduction of silver nitrate in excess of sodium borohydride. Modification of polyelectrolyte shells with synthesized silver nanoparticles was performed using the layer-by-layer approach. Remote opening of the polyelectrolyte/silver capsules was performed with a CW Nd:YAG FD laser with an average incident power output up to 70 mW. Capsules with a mixture of 10 and 18 nm silver nanoparticles in its polyelectrolyte shell were ruptured after less than 7 s of laser irradiation, while microcapsules with 23 nm silver nanoparticles in the shell were broken after 11 s of laser treatment and 10 nm silver nanoparticles were broken after 26 s.