Self-Assembly of Ag Nanoparticles Induced by Centrifuging and Broken by Silanization

A novel method was developed to assemble Ag nanoparticles (NPs) into chain-like structures. The assembly of the NPs was created by suspending in an ethanol and water solution as well as centrifuging at a high speed (a force of more than 29 Kg for the NPs with an average diameter of 18 nm). The composition of solvents and centrifuged speeds of samples play important roles for the formation of regular assemblies. The number of Ag NPs in the chain-like assemblies was adjusted by changing centrifuging forces. The assemblies of the NPs were fixed by a SiO2 coating through a St6ber synthesis. In addition, the assemblies were broken through a silanization process because of partially hydrolyzed tetraethyl-orthosilicate molecules adsorbed on the surface of Ag NPs to form a SiO2 layer opposite aggregation. A slow silanization process made Ag NPs monodispersed in solutions, in which Ag/SiO2 core/shell NPs were created.