Temperature and amino acid-assisted size- and morphology-controlled photochemical synthesis of silver decahedral nanoparticles

Stable silver decahedron nanoparticles were produced under the blue light irradiation (light-emitting diodes) of a modified precursor solution that has been previously reported. To improve the formation of the nano-decahedrons under blue light, we proposed the use of amino acids with electrically charged side chains (L-arginine, L-lysine and L-histidine). Our results show that L-arginine and L-lysine are best suited to improve the yield of the decahedrons. We also followed the kinetics of the photochemical synthesis under different irradiance conditions of 80, 50 and 15 mW/cm2. The maximum irradiance, 80 mW/cm2, resulted in a synthesis that was twice as fast as those associated with lower irradiances, and the corresponding decahedron yield was higher. The optimal temperature of the precursor solution for the improvement of the photochemical synthesis of silver decahedrons with Triton X-100 as a surfactant was also determined.