Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol.39, No.9, 1625-1632, 2009
Novel and efficient electrochemical way for silver nanoparticles deposition onto solid conductors: a new concept of metal-silver cathodes
The deposit of very small silver particles onto a very large palette of solid electronic conductors was achieved by means of the cathodic reduction of alkyl iodides RIs in the presence of a suspension of silver-palladium alloy particles (diameter > 250 mu m). The potential applied to the conductor is so that RIs are not directly reduced at its surface. The observed cathodic reaction is then the discharge of silver grains reacted in surface and covered by a transient assigned to be [RAg+, I-]. The main heterogeneous products are homo-dimers R-R while the deposition of silver aggregates of very small size (nanometric scale) occurs onto the conductor. By this way, the efficient silverization of many surfaces is possible. Stable layers of Ag particles were made onto many solid surfaces like platinum, palladium, copper, nickel, iron, gold, graphite, and glassy carbon. Preliminary evidences for the use of those new silvered electrodes are presented.