Polymer Blending as a Novel Approach for Tuning the SPR Peaks of Silver Nanoparticles

In the present work, a novel method is exhibited for tuning the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks of silver nanoparticles based on chitosan-Poly(vinyl alcohol) blend polymer nanocomposites. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by in situ method through the chitosan host polymer. The absence of crystalline peaks of PVA in the blend system indicated the occurrence of miscibility between CS and PVA polymers. The UV⁻vis spectra of CS:AgNt samples shows SPR bands with weak intensity. Obvious tuning in SPR peaks of silver nanoparticles occurred when different amounts of PVA polymer incorporated to the CS:AgNt system. The appearance of distinguishable crystalline peaks of Ag° nanoparticles at 2θ = 38.6° and 2θ = 44.2° in the blend system reveals the role of polymer blending in the enhancement of SPR peaks of silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles synthesized in this work with enhanced SPR peaks are important in various applications and areas such as optoelectronic devices. The TEM images show dispersed silver nanoparticles. The dielectric constant of PVA is higher than that of chitosan. The result of dielectric constant study validates the Mie model which reveals the fact that the dielectric constant of the surrounding material has a great effect on the SPR peak intensity of nanoparticles.