Photo-induced formation of silver nanoparticles and polymerization of acrylamide derivatives

The effect of silver ions and silver nanoparticles on the rate of polymerization of acrylamide and N-isopropylacylamide was investigated. Composites of silver particles of diameter around 30 nm and polyacrylamide were prepared by the photochemical method in the absence of any photosensitizer. The particles formed were characterized by UV-visible spectrophotometry, XRD, and TEM. It was shown that the presence of metal ions such as Ag+, Co2+, and Ni2+ in the acrylamide monomer is essential for photoinduced polymerization.