Single-pot two-temperature synthesis of high aspect ratio silver nanowires with narrow size distribution

Abstract

A synthetic method was developed to produce silver nanowires with lengths of ~20 μm and diameters of ~100 nm with a narrow size distribution. The method utilizes a simple, two-temperature (100 °C and 140 °C), one-pot synthesis with a yield approaching 80% that is amenable to large-scale production since it does not require timed reactant additions, critical agitation rates, nor complex temperature programs. Reaction time is typically ½ that of conventional synthetic methods. A selective precipitation method was also developed to the isolate the ~200 aspect ratio silver nanowires in a high purity. The method allows for control of nanowire aspect ratio by tuning the ratio of Ag+ ions to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) monomer units and/or the average molecular weight of PVP.