An efficient ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of Ag@AgCl@cellulose composites in ethylene glycol solvent

In the paper, Ag@AgCl@cellulose composites were fabricated by an ultrasonic-assisted method using AgNO3 and cellulose solution in ethylene glycol (EG). The cellulose solution was prepared by the dissolution of the microcrystalline cellulose in lithium chloride/N,N-dimethylacetamide (LiCl/DMAc) solvent. EG acts as both a solvent and a reducing agent, and LiCl is used as the Cl source to synthesize AgCl crystals. Two kinds of surfactants including cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) were applied as the dispersing agents during the synthesis process. The effects of heating time and EG volumes on the phases and morphologies of composites were investigated. Both heating time and EG volumes had effects on the reducing AgCl to Ag, and the addition of surfactants slightly decreased the composites' thermal stabilities. The efficient strategy may provide a more choice to fabricate other inorganic-organic composites.