title: Seed-Mediated Growth of Silver Nanocubes in Aqueous Solution with Tunable Size and Their Conversion to Au Nanocages with Efficient Photothermal Property.
abstract: Two seed-mediated approaches for the growth of silver nanocubes in aqueous solution have been developed. Addition of a silver-seed solution to a mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), silver trifluoroacetate, and ascorbic acid and heating the solution at 60 °C for 1.5 h produces uniform Ag nanocubes with tunable sizes from 23 to 60 nm by simply adjusting the volume of silver-seed solution introduced. Alternatively, the silver-seed solution can be injected into a mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), silver nitrate, copper sulfate, and ascorbic acid and heated to 80 °C for 2 h to generate 46 nm silver nanocubes. Plate-like Ag nanocrystals exposing {111} surfaces can be synthesized by reducing Ag(NH3 )2 (+) with ascorbic acid in a CTAC solution. Relatively large Ag nanocubes were converted to cuboctahedral Au/Ag and Au nanocages and nanoframes with empty {111} faces through a galvanic replacement reaction. The nanocages showed a progressive plasmonic band red-shift with increasing Au content. The nanocages exhibited high and stable photothermal efficiency with solution temperatures quickly reaching beyond 100 °C when irradiated with an 808 nm laser for large heat and water vapor generation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 (Taiwan.
authors.forename: Zhen-Wen
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 (Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 (Taiwan.
authors.forename: Min-Yi
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 (Taiwan. hyhuang@mx.nthu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5648-4345
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: nanocages; nanocubes; nanostructures; photothermal effect; silver