Permeability of carbon shells during sulfidation of encapsulated silver nanoparticles

In this work, we have studied morphological, structural and phase changes in amorphous carbon-encapsulated silver nanoparticles (Ag@C) upon treatment by H2S gas. The carbon shells have been found to present no impassable obstacles for the silver sulfide to form. The growth of Ag2S nanocrystals occurs on the outer surface of the carbon shell, the size of the encapsulated silver nanoparticle decreasing continuously until the nanoparticle is fully consumed. An explanation of the morphological changes observed in the Ag@C nanoparticles upon treatment by H2S gas is proposed.