Effective synthesis of Al2O3-silver nanoparticles hybrids

An efficient approach to depositing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto alumina (Al
₂
O
₃
) platelets has been realized via liquid phase reduction. Sodium borohydride served as the reducing agent of Ag+ ions, and sodium citrate dihydrate was employed to stabilize the AgNPs and control their sizes. In order to observe the structure and morphology of the Al
₂
O
₃
-AgNPs hybrids, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) were used. The results show that the AgNPs with a small size (10-20 nm) have a good distribution on the surface of Al
₂
O
₃
platelets. Besides, the surface of modified Al
₂
O
₃
platelets possess more AgNPs than the initial Al
₂
O
₃
platelets proving the advantage of the modification to depositing AgNPs. The method will extend the application of the Al
₂
O
₃
-based materials.