Silver nanowires with high aspect ratios of up to more than 60 were synthesized on a large scale by the redox reaction between silver nitrate and sodium diphenylamine sulfonate at room temperature and in the absence of surfactant and hard-template and seed. When the molar ratio of reductant sodium diphenylamine sulfonate and silver nitrate < or =1, most products were all the nanowires. When the molar ratio increases to 2:1, silver nanowires and nanobelts were concomitantly formed. The redox product N, N'-diphenylbenzidinedisulfonate and sodium diphenylamine sulfonate all play an important role in the formation of silver nanostructures. The structure, morphology, and composition of the silver nanowires were characterized by the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive microanalysis (EDX), and UV-Vis spectroscopy respectively. High-resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) reveal the single-crystal nature of the silver nanowires.
A manganese dioxide (g-MnO 2 ) cathode was prepared by a simple ambient temperature redox reaction method for Na-ion batteries. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the as-prepared sample annealed to low-temperatures ($200 C) revealed diffraction peaks confined to the orthorhombic phase of g-MnO 2 .The particle morphology of the sample, as revealed by the electron microscopy studies, was comprised of aggregated nanowire crystallites with diameters and lengths in the range of 2-3 and 25-40 nm, respectively. From the N 2 adsorption and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) studies, the average pore diameter and the surface area of the annealed g-MnO 2 was determined to be 3.77 nm and 148 m 2 g À1 respectively and thereby the mesoporous sample characteristics were confirmed. When employed in a Na/MnO 2 cell, the mesoporous g-MnO 2 cathode registered initial discharge and charge capacities of 234 and 233 mA h g À1 with almost 100% Coulombic efficiency. Although gradual capacity fading was observed on successive electrochemical cycling, the present study confirms the use of mesoporous electrodes as suitable Na-intercalation/de-intercalation hosts for emerging sodium battery applications.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.