Fast synthesis of silver nanowires at room temperature via ultrasonication-mediated galvanic replacement for flexible transparent electrodes

Abstract

In this work, we propose a facile method for fast synthesis of Ag nanowires by an ultrasonication-mediated galvanic replacement reaction between Ag⁺ and raspberry-like Cu nanoparticles at room temperature. The structural and morphological properties of the obtained Ag nanowires were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and selected area electron diffraction techniques. The diameter and length of the obtained Ag nanowires were in the range of 60–90 nm and 25–55 μm, respectively. By coating Ag nanowire dispersions on polyethylene terephthalate substrates, the prepared flexible films had a transmittance of about 80% at 550 nm and sheet resistance of about 15 Ω sq⁻¹. It was noteworthy that the flexible transparent conductive films could tolerate multiple bendings at different angles and maintained good conductivity even after 10 000 repeated bendings. Because of the comprehensive performance and simple preparation method of Ag nanowires, we envision that the development of such a promising route for high-quality Ag nanowires could have broad applications in the field of flexible electronic devices.