title: A facile, water-based synthesis of highly branched nanostructures of silver.
abstract: We report a facile and environmentally friendly method of preparing highly branched silver nanostructures. By reducing AgNO 3 with l-ascorbic acid in an aqueous solution, silver particles having a coral-like morphology were formed in a few minutes. A mechanistic study of the growth process revealed that the silver branches grew from a bulbous seed formed through aggregation, and that by changing the concentrations of the reagents, the degree of particle branching could be altered. With their potentially high surface areas, these branched structures could find use as catalysts or as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Yilong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Pedro H C
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Skrabalak
authors.forename: Hongchen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Younan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods; D013499:Surface Properties; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D012834:Silver; D001205:Ascorbic Acid