Synthesis of silver-strontium titanate hybrid nanoparticles by sol-gel-hydrothermal method

Abstract

Silver (Ag) nanoparticle-loaded strontium titanate (SrTiO3) nanoparticles were attempted to be synthesized by a sol-gel-hydrothermal method. We prepared the titanium oxide precursor gels incorporated with Ag+ and Sr2+ ions with various molar ratios, and they were successfully converted into the Ag-SrTiO3 hybrid nanoparticles by the hydrothermal treatment at 230 °C in strontium hydroxide aqueous solutions. The morphology of the SrTiO3 nanoparticles is dendritic in the presence and absence of Ag+ ions. The precursor gels, which act as the high reactive precursor, give rise to high nucleation and growth rates under the hydrothermal conditions, and the resultant diffusion-limited aggregation phenomena facilitate the dendritic growth of SrTiO3. From the field-emission transmission electron microscope observation of these Ag-SrTiO3 hybrid nanoparticles, the Ag nanoparticles with a size of a few tens of nanometers are distributed without severe agglomeration, owing to the competitive formation reactions of Ag and SrTiO3.