Controlled Synthesis of Silver Nanowires: Production and Characterization

Abstract

In this study, silver nanowires have been synthesized by the modified polyol method. Atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy were used to study the morphological properties of nanowires. The average diameter and length of obtained silver nanowires were 40–80 nm and 2–6 µm, respectively. Moreover, the investigation showed that the morphology of synthesized nanostructures dramatically depends on the concentration of halides. X-ray diffractometer study of the nanowires confirmed that the growth process occurs through the deposition of Ag⁺ ions onto the (111) plane. The ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy analysis demonstrated two localized surface plasmon resonance vibration lines of silver nanowires. The study determined that the blue shift of these vibration lines occurred due to the change in the size of the nanowires and depended on the halide concentration. The photoluminescence spectra of samples demonstrated two emission maximums in blue–green regions related to radiative recombination of Fermi level electrons and sp- or d-band holes.