A qualitative model for the growth mechanism of silver clusters in polymer solution

A simple and high-reproducible method for the synthesis of polymer-protected silver cluster of controlled size is described. UV-visible spectroscopy has been used for investigating the influence of the aging of the protective poly(vinylpyrrolidone) layer on the cluster growth rate at different reaction temperatures and poly(vinylpyrrolidone)/ethylene glycol weight ratios. The obtained results show that the aging time of the polymeric stabilizer solution plays a fundamental role in the reproducibility of the cluster growth process. A model for the metal cluster formation-grow process is also proposed.