Sacrificial passivation of nanoscale silver particles

Solid-state reaction in particle compacts comprising organically capped nanoscale Ag particles and Sn was evaluated. The results indicate that all of the Sn initially present formed a liquid phase when combined with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-capped particles, while smaller fractions were obtained when combined with polyvinylpyrrolidone- and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-capped nanoscale and uncapped micron-sized Ag. The extent of the subsequent liquid phase reaction is demonstrated not to be adversely affected by the presence of the SDS and PVA caps.