Toward a Green Chemistry Approach for the Functionalization of Melamine Foams with Silver Nanoparticles

The growing popularity of silver nanoparticles in the field of nanotechnology has created the necessity of developing new sustainable synthesis methods. This study presents a new green in situ functionalization method of melamine foams with silver nanoparticles. The synthesis pathway and the influence of the processing parameters are optimized to phase out 100% of polluting and dangerous solvents while maximizing silver transfer. A deep study of the morphological and chemical changes of the synthesized silver nanoparticles successfully demonstrated that water can be used as the only solvent for obtaining active melamine foams with potential application in multiple fields. Results showed that rising reaction temperatures from environmental to mild conditions (40 degrees C and 60 degrees C) is crucial for obtaining high functionalization yields with this green method. Following the optimum fabrication conditions using only water, highly functionalized melamine foams showed a great amount of ultrafine silver nanoparticles distributed over the porous structure. Porous melamine foams functionalized with silver nanoparticles are successfully produced using only water as solvent. The reaction conditions of this alternative green route are optimized to obtain a high functionalization yield of the silver nanoparticles and a proper particle-size distribution to upgrade the performance of these materials for their application in multiple fields.image