Applied Surface Science 412 (2017) 482–488 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Surface Science journal h om epa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/apsusc Full Length Article Silver-polymer functional-nanocomposite: A single step synthesis approach with in-situ optical study Raugmé Brink, Meenakshi Choudhary, Samarjeet Siwal, Debkumar Nandi, Kaushik Mallick ∗ Department of Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box: 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 19 February 2017 Received in revised form 20 March 2017 Accepted 30 March 2017 Available online 31 March 2017 Keywords: Silver-polymer composite Functional material In-situ optical study Recognition of Epinephrine a b s t r a c t In this report, a one-step synthesis method has been documented for the fabrication of silver (Ag)-polymer composite material, where the metal nanoparticles are encapsulated within the polymer matrix. The formation of composite material was optically monitored using UV–vis and photoluminescence spec- troscopic techniques. Other surface characterization and microscopic techniques were applied to realize more detail structural information of the composite. The synthesized composite material was applied as a catalyst for the electrochemical recognition of Epinephrine. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fabrication of a composite is an effective way for creating the multiple performance in a single architecture by combining the physical features of the different participating materials. Assem- bly of metal particles within the polymer has become an exciting tool for creating the multi-functional composite materials where the characteristics of the original polymer can be significantly changed [1]. Incorporation of metal or metal ion in the polymeric matrix could alter the magnetic [2], electrical [3], optical [4], cat- alytic [5] and sensing [6] properties for both the components. For metal-polymer composite system to achieve such functional properties the control of particle size, particle distribution and the particle-polymer interactions, through functionalization [7], are the essential conditions. Metal nanoparticles, particularly, Au, Ag and Cu show unique optical and interesting electronic proper- ties. The optical properties of nano-sized metal particles have been focused for the applications in sensing [8], optoelectronics [9] and cell imaging [10]. Majority of the applications of the silver nanoparticles are based on plasmon mediated catalysis due to its unique optical properties [11–13]. Silver nanoparticles establish a promising approach for the bactericidal effects through the mechanistic action driven by the ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: kaushikm@uj.ac.za (K. Mallick). oxidation of the nanoparticles [14]. Heterogeneous gas phase reac- tion for the oxidation of styrene using silver nanoparticles has also been documented in the literature [15,16]. Silica-supported Ag- particles has been reported as an effective catalyst for Diels-Alder reaction [17]. Silver nanoparticles are extremely important in catal- ysis, organic transformations and the synthesis of fine chemicals. Recently published review articles cover an extensive overview for the application of nano-silver in organic transformations including carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-sulphur, carbon-oxygen bond formation reactions as well as reduction and oxidation reac- tions [18,19]. The polymer stabilized Ag-nanoparticle also showed sensing activity for the nonenzymatic detection of H 2 O 2 and also exhibited catalytic activity for the proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction [20]. In this report, a single step wet chemical route has been adopted for the synthesis of Ag-polymer composite, where 1, 8- di-aminonaphthalene has been used as a reducing agent for the silver nitrate for the preparation of silver nanoparticles, on the other hand, during the reaction, aminonaphthalene (AN) has been oxidized and produced poly-aminonaphthalene (pAN). The pro- cess of nanoparticle formation and polymerization are happened simultaneously and that ultimately produced metal-polymer com- posite material and has been used for an effective catalyst for the electrocatalytic detection of Epinephrine. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.03.269 0169-4332/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.