Metal-polymer Ag nanocomposites based on hydrophilic nitrogen- and sulfur-containing copolymers: control of nanoparticle size

New polymer nanocomposites containing silver nanoparticles, stabilized by hydrophilic copolymers of 1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole with vinylsulfonic acid sodium salt of different composition, were synthesized. Nanocomposites formation was carried out by the method of chemical reduction of silver ions by sodium borohydride in an aqueous medium in the presence of co-polymer. It was established according to the results of transmission electron microscopy that obtained polymer nanocomposites consist of isolated silver nanoparticles of predominantly spherical shape with a diameter from 2 to 16 nm. It was found that composition of the stabilizing polymer matrix controls such nanocomposites parameters as the polydispersity index of nanoparticles (D_w/D_n = 1.44−1.34), hydrodynamic radii of macrocoils (266−1118 nm), and zeta potential (from −35.0 to −74.8 mV).