Silver nanoparticles were synthesized in a paste of polyvinylpyrrolidone formed after mixing PVP with acetone and a small volume of aqueous silver nitrate under magnetic stirring. A film made with the material was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy. The obtained spectrum shows a single peak at 438 nm, arising from the surface plasmon absorption of silver colloids. This result clearly indicates that silver nanoparticles are embedded in PVP. When the pre-treated PVP-Ag colloid is dissolved in ethylene glycol, the UV-vis spectrum of the resulting dispersion shows an absorption peak at 433 nm, whose maximum absorption blue shifts to 416 nm after 18 days of agitation. The silver nanoparticles have an average particle size of 4.12 nm. Because the IR band assigned to the carbonyl group of the PVP shifts to longer wavelengths, the interaction of this polymer with silver nanoparticles seems to take place through the carbonyl oxygen. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.