Controlled Chemical Synthesis Methods of Ag Nanoparticles

Nanotechnology is the science of manipulation of matter or particles at a level of tiny scale. At the
nano-size range, the atoms and molecules behave differently. Nanotechnology helps in production,
designing, and application of materials at the atomic and molecular scale to synthesized new nanosized
materials. But the size, physical, and chemical properties of synthesized nanoparticles (NPs)
depends on the growth mechanism. The investigation for the mechanism of growth of the
nanoparticles is a must for the development of doped/undoped nanocrystalline materials. As
nanomaterials of noble metals, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have an extensive range of applications,
such as biosensors, antistatic materials, antibacterial materials, cryogenic superconducting material,
and so on. Controlled preparation steps of nanoparticles help to obtain the Ag-NPs with the desired
parameter like mean diameter, porosity and surface area, etc. To attain positive outcomes of
nanomaterials, researchers have been manipulating all possible physical, chemical as well as
biological routes. In the present chapter, we will try to explore all chemical methods of Ag-NPs
synthesis applied in modern times. Why we selected the chemical routes even though we were able
to synthesize nanomaterials via physical methods without much effort. The answer lies in the
technique itself as the physical methods we follow today are expensive, require heavy instrumentation
and we cannot alter the reaction pathway before the formation of final products. To overcome all
these major drawbacks scientists developed chemical methods to synthesize Ag-NPs.