In-situ formation of supramolecular aggregates between chitin nanofibers and silver nanoparticles.
Ruchira N Wijesena, Nadeeka D Tissera, Charith Abeyratne, Osura M Bangamuwa, Natalie Ludowyke, Damayanthi Dahanayake, Sunanda Gunasekara, Nuwan de Silva, Rohini M de Silva, K M Nalin de Silva
Author Information
Ruchira N Wijesena: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Nadeeka D Tissera: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Charith Abeyratne: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Osura M Bangamuwa: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Natalie Ludowyke: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Damayanthi Dahanayake: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Sunanda Gunasekara: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Nuwan de Silva: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka.
Rohini M de Silva: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka.
K M Nalin de Silva: Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Nanotechnology & Science Park, Mahenwatta, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka. Electronic address: kmndesilva@gmail.com.
Chitin and chitin derivatives have gained significant research interest over the years due to a number of beneficial properties that can be exploited in various application fields. Particularly, interactions between their nanostructures and other nanomaterials are of great interest. In situ photo-reduction of AgCl in chitin nanofiber aqueous dispersions resulted in significant loss of colloidal stability of both chitin nanofibers (CNF) and silver nanoparticles. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to characterize the extinction profiles of in-situ prepared CNF and several silver nanoparticle mixtures over the reaction steps. High resolution TEM characterization of the resulting structures indicated the presence of the aggregated form of nanofiber and nanoparticles. Energy filtered TEM analysis confirmed the existence of both CNF and silver nano particles in the aggregate, with silver in its chemically reduced state (Ag(0)). FT-IR, and C solid state NMR revealed the presence of strong interactions between Ag and CNF through hydroxyl and carbonyl moieties of the CNF structure. It was concluded that these interactions led to the formation of a supramolecular aggregate in the in-situ mixture as a result of wrapping of CNF around photo-reduced silver nanoparticles which resulted in the colloidal instability.
