Synthesis of Silver Nanoclusters and Nanoparticles in the Medium of Hyperbranched Polyester Polyamine, and the Morphology and Aggregation Properties of the Metal–Polymer Nanocomposite

Abstract—A procedure was developed for the single-step synthesis of a metal–polymer nanocomposite based on silver nanoparticles and second-pseudogeneration superbranched polyester functionalized along the periphery with 3-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]propionate. Under the conditions of the synthesis in the medium of H₂O or DMSO, hyperbranched polyester decorated with ethylenediamine moieties can act as both a reductant of the nanoscale silver state and a stabilizer of it. The synthesized composite nanomaterial is formed by aggregates of hyperbranched polyester polyamine doped with Ag(0) nanoclusters and nanoparticles of spheroidal symmetry with a face-centered cubic crystal lattice. The hydrodynamic diameter of aggregates and the diameter of particles increase with increasing molar ratio ${{n}_{{{{{\text{A}}{{{\text{g}}}^{{\text{ + }}}}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{{\text{A}}{{{\text{g}}}^{{\text{ + }}}}} {{\text{NHC}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}{\text{C}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}{\text{N}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}}}} \right. \kern-0em} {{\text{NHC}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}{\text{C}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}{\text{N}}{{{\text{H}}}_{{\text{2}}}}}}}}}$ and are 34–90 and 7–14 nm, respectively.