Synthesis of silver/montmorillonite nanocomposites using γ-irradiation

Figures & data

Figure 1 Schematic illustration of the synthesis of the silver nanoparticles on montmorillonite suspension by γ-irradiation doses.

Figure 2 Photograph of AgNO₃/MMT (A0) and Ag/MMT nanocomposite suspensions at different γ-irradiation doses: 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kGy (A1–A5).

Abbreviation: MMT, montmorillonite.

Figure 3 Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of montmorillonite (MMT) and Ag/MMT nanocomposites for 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kGy (A1–A5).

Figure 4 Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of montmorillonite (MMT) and Ag/MMT nanocomposites at the different γ-irradiation doses: 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kGy (A1–A5).

Figure 5 TEM images and their corresponding particle size distributions of Ag/MMT nanocomposites at the different γ-irradiation doses: 1 kGy (A, B), 5 kGy (C, D), 10 kGy (E, F), 20 kGy (G, H), and 40 kGy (I, J).

Abbreviations: MMT, montmorillonite; TEM, transmission electron microscopy.

Figure 6 SEM micrographs and EDXRF spectra respectively for the MMT (A, B) and Ag/MMT nanocomposites: 1 kGy (C, D), 10 kGy (E, F), 20 kGy (G, H), and 40 kGy (I, J).

Abbreviations: EDXRF, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence; MMT, montmorillonite; SEM, scanning electron microscopy.

Figure 7 UV-visible absorption spectra for AgNO3/MMT (A0) and Ag/MMT nanocomposites suspension at the different γ-irradiation doses: 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kGy (A1–A5).

Abbreviations: MMT, montmorillonite; UV, ultraviolet.

Figure 8 FT-IR spectra of montmorillonite (MMT), Ag/MMT nanocomposites at the different γ-irradiation doses: 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 kGy (A1–A5).

Abbreviation: FT-IR Fourier transform infrared.

Table 1 Physical properties of Ag-NPs in Ag/MMT nanocomposites synthesized at different γ-irradiation doses in a constant concentration (0.2 mol/L) of AgNO₃

Sample	γ-irradiation dose (kGy)	λmaxa	Absorbanceb	Approximated efficiency (%)	Ag NP particle sizec (nm)
A1	1	360	0.68	8.31 ± 0.42	21.57 ± 7.54
A2	5	390	0.83	19.05 ± 0.47	24.75 ± 12.94
A3	10	408	1.06	37.35 ± 0.51	27.20 ± 14.96
A4	20	415	1.45	45.54 ± 0.68	30.64 ± 15.99
A5	40	413	2.08	56.15 ± 0.71	28.56 ± 9.58

a Notes: The experiments were repeated three times, and they were averaged to give the data in this table;

b The data were obtained by multiplying the absorbance of the corresponding diluted solutions by their dilution factors when diluted solutions were used for the data;

c The size of the Ag-NPs was determined by measuring diameters of about 100 NPs in TEM image and averaging them.

Abbreviations: MMT, montmorillonite; NP, nanoparticle; TEM, transmission electron microscopy.