Heatless polyol synthesis of disk-shaped silver particles and the enhanced shape control using tellurium

Abstract

Despite several studies on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, the development of an efficient and cost-effective synthesis is still a significant issue in the silver powder industry. Here, we report a simple and energy-efficient synthesis of silver particles, including disk-shaped particles, using a polyol process. This process does not require heating during synthesis, even with the use of ethylene glycol as the reducing agent, resulting in the completion of the entire reaction within a few minutes. The reaction system of this process consists of ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and non-transition metal elements as the catalysts. The presence of ammonium hydroxide during the reaction enabled the oxidation of ethylene glycol to glycolaldehyde without heating. Several non-transition metals were investigated as catalysts to control the shape of the silver particles. Tellurium and tin were determined to be effective catalysts for the formation of silver particles with disk shapes. The sintering behavior and electrical properties of the synthesized silver particles were investigated.