Electroless Deposition of Silver Nanostructures by Redox Reaction of Copper Oxide

Abstract

We synthesized Cu2O microcrystal by solution phase reduction and drop-casted it on various substrates as reductant. Different structures of Ag, including nanowires, fold lines, dendrites, and so on, were obtained by immersing the Cu2O substrates into different concentrations of AgNO3. The products were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and so on, and their morphology is proposed to be determined by the interplay between tiny Cu2O nanoparticles and the distribution of Ag+ concentration affected by Mullins–Sekerka instabilities. Using an optical microscope, we directly observed the real-time growth process of Ag nanowire and found its growth speed to be fluctuating around 5 μm/min. We also investigated the effects exerted on the formation of Ag nanostructures by other parameters, including crystal morphology of Cu2O, heating, light irradiation, and stirring the precursor. From the experiment results, we deduced that the {111} facet of Cu2O played a larger part than {100} facet in promoting the growth of Ag na...