Synthesis of Silver-Strontium Titanate Hybrid Nanoparticles by Sol-Gel-Hydrothermal Method

Silver (Ag) nanoparticle-loaded strontium titanate (SrTiO(3)) nanoparticles were attempted to be synthesized by a sol-gel-hydrothermal method. We prepared the titanium oxide precursor gels incorporated with Ag(+) and Sr(2+) ions with various molar ratios, and they were successfully converted into the Ag-SrTiO(3) hybrid nanoparticles by the hydrothermal treatment at 230 °C in strontium hydroxide aqueous solutions. The morphology of the SrTiO(3) nanoparticles is dendritic in the presence and absence of Ag(+) ions. The precursor gels, which act as the high reactive precursor, give rise to high nucleation and growth rates under the hydrothermal conditions, and the resultant diffusion-limited aggregation phenomena facilitate the dendritic growth of SrTiO(3). From the field-emission transmission electron microscope observation of these Ag-SrTiO(3) hybrid nanoparticles, the Ag nanoparticles with a size of a few tens of nanometers are distributed without severe agglomeration, owing to the competitive formation reactions of Ag and SrTiO(3).