Oriented silver oxidenanostructures synthesized through a template-free electrochemical route

Abstract

Oriented silver oxide nanostructures, including polycrystalline columnar structures, nanofibers and single crystalline nanodisks, were successfully grown on conductive substrates from acetate-containing aqueous solutions through an electrochemical strategy. The morphological features (shape, diameter and areal density) of the Ag_xO nanostructures could be effectively adjusted through deposition parameters, including current density, concentration of silver nitrate and solution pH values. Structural and chemical analyses, based on HRTEM/SAED and XPS techniques, confirm that the electrodeposited Ag_xO nanostructures have a defective cubic Ag₂O structure containing cation deficiency, twin boundaries, and amorphous zones and stacking faults. The variety of nanostructures obtained in this work can be attributed to the kinetic effect of supersaturation ratio of Ag_xO at the electrode/electrolyte interface. This electrochemical process is versatile to extend to other transition metal oxides and to a variety of inexpensive conductive substrates.