Formation of Silver-Containing Nanocomposites during Thermolysis of Polyacrylonitrile Salt: EPR Study

New insoluble polymer silver-containing nanocomposites are synthesized by the thermal treatment of a polymer complex based on polyacrylonitrile without the use of an additional reducing agent. The resulting composites are paramagnetic and have a spin concentration of about 1017−1018 spin/g and an average size of silver nanoparticles of 5−8 nm. The electron paramagnetic resonance is used to monitor the synthesis of nanosystems in time. It is found that the nanocomposite is formed via two main stages through the reduction of silver ions and the further development of nanoparticles, while the polymer matrix can undergo some changes and contribute to the overall magnetism of the resulting composite.