Synthesis of one-dimensional silver nanowires in aqueous solution using phloroglucinol as a reducing reagent

Abstract

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are promising alternatives to indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrodes due to their favorable electrical and optical properties. Herein, high-quality AgNWs with an average diameter of 32 nm and an ultrahigh aspect ratio of 3000 were synthesized via a hydrothermal process at 160 °C using phloroglucinol, a typical polyhydroxyphenol, as the reducing agent. In an aqueous reaction system, in situ formed AgCl colloids gradually evolved into polyhedral particles during the reaction. Based on the observed morphology evolution, these AgCl-derived structures are suggested to participate in the formation process of AgNWs, possibly by influencing the distribution and interfacial evolution of silver species. Key synthetic parameters, including the reaction temperature/time, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) molecular weight, and the concentrations of phloroglucinol and chloride ions, were systematically investigated. These factors were found to affect the formation of AgNWs, likely through their influence on the reduction behavior of Ag⁺ in the reaction system. Transparent conductive films (TCFs) fabricated from these AgNWs exhibited tunable optoelectronic properties depending on the deposition amount. In the high-transmittance region, the films showed a balanced combination of sheet resistance, transmittance, haze, and the figure of merit. For example, at 90% transmittance, the film exhibited a sheet resistance of 45.15 Ω sq⁻¹ with low haze (2%), while increased coating density led to reduced sheet resistance but higher haze (4.8%). These results indicate that the obtained AgNWs have potential for transparent conductive film applications.