Silver Voyage from Macro- to Nanoworld
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Jana Soukupova [1] ; Libor Kvitek [1] ; Martina Kratochvilova [1] ; Ales Panacek [1] ; Robert Prucek [1] ; Radek Zboril [1]
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[1] Palacký University, Olomouc
Palacký University, Olomouc
Chequia
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 87, Nº 10 (October), 2010, págs. 1094-1097
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
Nanoscience and nanotechnology currently represent one of the most rapidly developing fields of science and technology; therefore, the fundamental principles of nanoscience and nanotechnology should be understood by college and even high school students as well as by members of scientific communities. Silver, as the pioneer material in these fields, can be considered the appropriate guide on the voyage from the macro- to the nanoworld revealing the changes in fundamental properties of matter. We suggest a set of experiments that offer the preparation of silver mirror (macroscopic silver), submicroscopic “black” colloidal particles (<465 nm), and also nanoscopic “orange” particles (40 nm). Interestingly, all of these forms of silver can be prepared via the well-established Tollens reaction using just the variation in the initial concentrations of the reaction components. The macroscopic silver particles can be detected as a result of their typical metal shine. The colloidal and the nanoscopic silver particles, prepared in aqueous dispersions, can be simply detected with a laser pointer because of the Tyndall effect. However, more sophisticated methods like UV−vis absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, or transmission electron microscopy can be employed for the appropriate characterization of all of the prepared silver particles.
