Preparation of silver nanoparticles using the SPG membrane emulsification technique

Silver nanoparticles with diameters around 10 nm were synthesized successfully using the SPG membrane emulsification technique for the first time. In this method, W/O microemulsions containing silver ions in the water phase were prepared using the SPG membrane emulsification technique and utilized as reaction spaces for the reduction of silver ions. 5–20 nm sized silver nanoparticles with around 15–20% CVs were obtained as a result of the small reaction space of the W/O microemulsion prepared using the SPG membrane emulsification technique. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using DLS, UV–vis, XRD, and TEM–EDX. In addition, we investigated the effects of the concentration of the aqueous silver nitrate solution and the pore size of the SPG membrane, and the results indicated that we could control the diameter of the nanoparticles by varying such parameters.