Influence of Surfactants in Synthesizing of AgCl-doped Silica Spheres

Silver chloride-doped silica (AgCl-SiO2) particles with the crystallite size of AgCl ranging from 130 – 240 nm have been prepared via the precipitation of Ag+ and Cl̄. The Ag+ were adsorbed onto the silica surfaces during the Stöber process, followed by the addition of Cl̄ and surfactant for the formation of AgCl-SiO2 particles. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with different molarities were used as surfactants. Samples also were prepared without surfactant. The synthesized samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). XRD patterns confirmed the formation of AgCl for all samples. For low molarity of surfactants (50 mM), smaller size of 133 nm AgCl was formed by using the PEG while at higher molarity (75 mM), the PVP gives smaller size of 134 nm AgCl particles. From SEM, there is no significant difference in morphology of all samples. The strong absorption in ultraviolet region indicates the presence of AgCl particles.