Green synthesis of dual-surface nanocomposite films using Tollen’s method

Nanocomposite films with dual-surface, silver (Ag) layers and silver-polyvinyl alcohol (Ag-PVA) bulk layers were prepared by Tollen’s reagent using β-D-glucose as a green reducing agent in water as an environmentally-friendly solvent and in PVA as a bio-friendly polymer. The gradual color change of Ag in PVA solutions from colorless to light brown and then to brown, and finally dark brown, indicated the formation of Ag nanoparticles in the bulk of the PVA solution which finally formed Ag layers on the inner side of the glass. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the nanocomposite films with two surfaces. The Ag content of the Ag layers reached 93% with a higher crystallinity. The Ag content of the Ag-PVA bulk layers reached 10.8% with a lower crystallinity due to incorporation of Ag nanoparticles in the polymer chains. The structure and morphology of the two surfaces were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).