One-step synthesis of silver nanoplates with high aspect ratios: using coordination of silver ions to enhance lateral growth

Abstract

The single-step production of Ag nanoplates with high aspect ratios is of great significance for their applications to bendable or stretchable electrodes, but the development of a facile synthetic method remains a great challenge. In this paper, a coordination-based strategy was successfully employed to produce, in a single step, Ag nanoplates with high aspect ratios. Optimal Ag nanoplates were synthesized in the presence of acetonitrile, which served both as the co-solvent and as the ligand to form complexes with the Ag⁺ ions. Coordination effect of the Ag⁺ ions by acetonitrile apparently decreased the rate of the reduction of these ions, leading to a decrease in the number of seeds formed in the nucleation step. Decreasing the number of seeds in this way, while keeping the concentration of the Ag precursor constant, resulted in the formation of larger Ag nanoplates. This new synthetic method specifically enabled the formation of Ag nanoplates with lateral dimensions exceeding 1 μm and with thickness values of approximately 30 nm. These Ag nanoplates were found to show electrical percolation in a short sintering time and high electrical conductivity when they were directly used as metal inks to produce conductive patterns for printed electronics.