Individual silver nanoparticles observed in real time

Chemists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a new method of observing the chemical reactions of individual silver nanoparticles, which only measure a thousandth of the thickness of a human hair, in real time. The particles are used in medicine, food and sports items because they have an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. However, how they react and degrade in ecological and biological systems is so far barely understood. The team in the Research Group for Electrochemistry and Nanoscale Materials showed that the nanoparticles transform into poorly soluble silver chloride particles under certain conditions. The group led by Prof Dr. Kristina Tschulik reports on the results in the Journal of the American Chemical Society from July 11, 2018.