A NONAQUEOUS SOLUTION ROUTE TO SYNTHESIS OF POLYACRYLAMIDE-SILVER NANOCOMPOSITES AT ROOM-TEMPERATURE

Polyacrylamide-silver nanocomposites with silver nanoparticles well di spersed in polyacrylamide matrix were synthesized for the first time b y gamma-irradiation at ambient conditions in alcohol solvent. X-ray po wder diffraction (XRD) showed that the samples consisted of Mo phases, metallic silver and polyacrylamide. The amount of silver present as m etallic species in polyacrylamide matrix was measured by precipitation titration. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to study t he morphology and size distribution of silver nanoparticles. Infrared (IR) spectrum confirmed the polymerization of acrylamide monomer and t he formation of polyacrylamide in ethanol upon gamma-irradiation. (C) 1998 Acta Metallurgica Inc.