Synthesis of Ag and Cu nanoparticles by plasma discharge in inorganic salt solutions

In recent years, nanoparticles have emerged as an important player in a broad range of applications, especially thanks to recent advances in their synthesis. The silver and copper nanoparticles are often used due to their antibacterial and fungicidal activities, and this article presents the results of the nanoparticle synthesis using electrical glow discharge generated directly in a volume of their salt solutions. Therefore, there is no influence of air (i.e. reactive nitrogen species) as it is usual in other commonly used approaches. Nanoparticles were prepared under various experimental conditions, and they were characterized by ultraviolet/visible spectrometry, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Particles were produced without any surfactant or stabilizing agent, and some of them showed higher resistance against agglomeration during their short-term (days) storage. The nanoparticle formation mechanism was confirmed by the fast camera imaging. Thus, the developed approach can be applied for simple environmentally friendly nanoparticle production for various applications.