Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Capped Silver Nanoparticles for Highly Sensitive and Selective Optical Fiber-Based Ammonium Sensor

Revati P Potdar; Yogesh B Khollam; Shoyebmohamad F Shaikh; Pravin S More; Abu Ul Hassan S Rana

doi:10.3390/nano12193373

Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Capped Silver Nanoparticles for Highly Sensitive and Selective Optical Fiber-Based Ammonium Sensor

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2022 Sep 27;12(19):3373. doi: 10.3390/nano12193373.

Authors

Revati P Potdar¹, Yogesh B Khollam², Shoyebmohamad F Shaikh³, Pravin S More¹, Abu Ul Hassan S Rana^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Nanomaterials Application Laboratory, The Institute of Science, Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, Mumbai 400032, India.
² Research Centre in Physics, Department of Physics, Baburaoji Gholap College, Sangvi, Pune 411027, India.
³ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Bld-5, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁵ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.

Abstract

Herein, aqueous ammonium sensing characteristics of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) capped silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) coated optical fiber-based sensors are presented. The PVP-capped Ag-NPs were prepared using cold and modified polyol synthesis methods. Aqueous ammonium detection was carried out by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect observed in the Ag-NPs coated optical fiber system. The effect of cold and modified polyol synthesis methods on optical sensing performance was studied. The optical fiber cladding was modified with PVP-capped Ag-NPs according to the standard protocol for sensing investigation. The probe sensing response was analyzed for varying concentrations of ammonium ions on red, green, and blue LEDs. The sensor characteristics, viz., sensing response, repeatability, calibration curve, and ambient light effect, were investigated for PVP capped Ag-NPs coated optical fiber-based sensor. The PVP capped Ag-NPs synthesized via the polyol synthesis method showed a detection limit of 48.9 mM, 1.33 mV/M sensitivity, and an excellent linear relationship (R² = 0.9992) between voltage and ammonium ion concentration in the range of 0.054-13.4 M concentration. On the other hand, PVP capped Ag-NPs synthesized using the cold synthesis method showed a detection limit of 159.4 mM, a sensitivity of 0.06 mV/M, and a poor linear relationship (R² = 0.4588) between voltage and ammonium ion concentration in the range of 0.054-13.4 M concentration. The results indicate that the PVP-capped Ag-NPs synthesized using the polyol synthesis method exhibit enhanced ammonium ion sensing compared to the cold synthesis method.

Keywords: PVP; ammonium sensor; cold synthesis; optical fiber-based sensor; polyol synthesis; silver nanoparticles.

Grants and funding

This research is funded by the Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Mumbai, Maharashtra (File No: RGSTC/File2016/DPP-146/CR-36). The authors thank Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Mumbai. Maharashtra for providing financial assistance and the director of the Institute of Science, Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, Mumbai, for providing laboratory access for carrying out experiments. The authors would like to thank the researchers supporting project number (RSP-2021/370), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for financial support. The authors also sincerely thank KIST School Partnership Project, Seoul, South Korea.