Formation of Silver Nanoparticles via Reduction of TheirSparingly Soluble Precursors

The process of synthesis of ultradisperse silver particles by the reduction of silver salts differing in solubility by 5–40 orders of magnitude was studied by spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, and visual observation. The solubility of the precursor salt was shown to significantly affect the silver reduction rate. Examination by photon correlation spectroscopy confirmed the formation, upon completion of the reduction reaction, of silver nanoparticles with ~20 nm hydrodynamic radius, including the stabilizer shell. The biological activity of the sols synthesized against test cultures such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans was assessed, and its dependence on the size of the particles formed was revealed. For the textile materials doped with the sols synthesized, the resistance to the action of the natural complex of microflora and of soil microflora was studied depending on the solubility of the precursor salts and on the size of the particles formed.