A simple technique to prepare plastic color filters based on the surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles has been developed. In particular, silver/polystyrene nanocomposite has been prepared by dissolving silver 1,5-cyclooctadiene-hexafluoroacetylacetonate in amorphous polystyrene, and the obtained solid solution was heated for ca. 10 s at a convenient temperature (180 degrees C). In these conditions, the metal precursor decomposes and produces silver atoms that diffuse into the polymeric matrix and clusterize, leading to the formation of a contact-free dispersion of silver nanoparticles. The resulting films have been characterized by large-angle X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and UVvis spectroscopy.(c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 31: 242245, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/adv.21278