Simple Determination of Silver Nanoparticles Concentration as Ag+ by Using ISE as Potential Alternative to ICP Optical Emission Spectrometry

The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is a high resolution spectroscopic technique based on the emission intensity at specific wavelengths of a given element within the sample to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information about ions concentration in aqueous solution. The concentration of Ag+ in aqueous solution from negatively charged silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been determined by ion selective electrode (ISE) analysis at room temperature. The tested AgNPs solutions have been electrochemically prepared without using any coating agent. The obtained data have been compared to those obtained from the same samples by using ICP-OES. The good correlation between the two techniques highlights that ISE could be successfully applied as valid alternative to ICP-OES to determine the silver ion concentration in the investigated conditions. High level of reproducibility, accurate measurements and affordability represent the main advantages of the method described herein.