Precipitation of dispersed silver particles using acetone as reducing agent

A novel environmentally friendly solution-based method for preparing dispersed silver particles is described. The simple and convenient approach consists in heating silver oxide particles dispersed in a highly alkaline water/acetone mixture. The data presented clearly show that acetone reduces completely and rapidly Ag2O particles to metallic silver at 60 °C. A mechanism explaining the provenance of the electrons responsible for the reduction of silver is proposed.

Graphical abstractDispersed silver particles were obtained by reducing silver oxide with acetone. The generation of the electrons needed for the reduction is facilitated catalytically by Ag2O under highly alkaline conditions.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (35 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights► Novel environmentally friendly route for obtaining dispersed Ag particles. ► Acetone reduces rapidly and completely silver oxide in alkaline aqueous solutions. ► Ag2O catalyzes the abstraction of the α-hydrogen in the acetone’s methyl groups and the release of electrons needed for the reduction.