The fate of nano-silver in aqueous media.

Silver nanoparticles offer highly attractive properties for many applications, however concern has been raised over the possible toxicity of this material in environmental systems. While it is thought that the release of Ag(+) can play a crucial role in this toxicity, the mechanism by which the oxidative dissolution of nano-silver occurs is not yet understood. Here we address this through the electrochemical analysis of gold-core silver-shell nanoparticles in various solutions.