STRUCTURAL, MORPHOLOGICAL AND OPTICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED BY SOL-GEL AUTO-COMBUSTION METHOD

Effect of post-synthesis annealing temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties of silver (Ag) nanoparticles has been investigated. Silver nanoparticles have been synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that synthesized nanoparticles exhibit face-centered cubic structure with preferred orientation along (111) plane. Crystallite size has been observed to increase from 22 to 32 rim as the annealing temperature upsurge from 350 to 550 degrees C. The crystal growth as a result of high annealing temperature has been observed with slight shift in most intense diffraction peak toward smaller 20 values. As the silver lattice grow with temperature, the lattice stain decreases due to larger grain boundaries. The optical studies revealed that silver nanoparticles exhibit a direct band gap of 2.51 eV. These large band gap silver nanoparticles when embedded in ceramics and glass would have potential applications in optoelectronic devices.