Wet Chemical Synthesis of Silver Nanowire Thin Films at Ambient Temperature

Abstract

Novel silver nanowire thin films, which consist of interwoven bundles of single-crystalline silver nanowires about 30−40 nm in diameter, have been successfully synthesized on glass wall by mild chemical reduction in aqueous solutions of poly(methacrylic acid) at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV−vis absorption spectroscopy have been used to characterize the obtained silver products. It was found that there existed a competition between precipitation of spherical particles, precipitation of individual nanowires, and formation of silver nanowire films. It was revealed that the negatively charged glass surface provided heterogeneous nucleation sites for the growth of bundles of silver nanowires. Appropriate pH values and polymer concentrations were crucial for the growth of dense silver nanowire films on the glass wall. A polymer-mediated heterogeneous nucleation and growth process has been proposed for the formation of the unique metal nanowire thin films.

Nanoplasmonics: a frontier of photovoltaic solar cells

“…The synthesis process of metal nanodots and nanospheres generally involves chemical reactions, which reduce the targeting metal cations from the metal salt solutions, followed by steps of controlled precipitation and stabilization of the colloids [85 -89] . More complex shapes, like Ag nanorods [90] , Ag nanowires [89] , Au nanorods [88,91] , thorny shaped Au nanoparticles [92] , Ag nanoshells [93] , nucleated Ag nanoparticles [18] , can be synthesized from their respective seeds. For some methods templates have to be used in order to let the seeds grow in the preferential directions, although the template-less methods are preferable, as the template removal steps can be saved.…”

Fabrication of silver nanowires via a β-cyclodextrin-derived soft template

“…Accordingly, methods must be designed to prevent the formation of large metal clusters in their growth processes. Template methods using a variety of materials, such as alumina membranes, porous polycarbonates, carbon nanotubes, DNA chains, rodlike micelles, and organogels, have been employed in the growth of silver nanowires [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Organogels, particularly stimuli-responsive gels, have been extensively investigated and have potential applications in smart biomaterials and drug-delivery systems [31][32][33].…”

Formation and Oriented Aggregation of Tabular Hexagonal Silver Particles

“…Linear metal particle aggregates, for example, find potential use as interconnects in fabricating nanodevices and play important roles in investigating a variety of physical phenomena [12,13]. In particular, silver has received special attention because it exhibits the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all the metals, and the performance of silver in many applications could be enhanced by processing silver into one-dimensional nanostructures [14,15].…”