Polyol as a Tunable Method for Synthesizing Null and One-dimensional Ag and Ag-Cu Nanostructures

In this study, null and one-dimensional nanoparticles and nanostructures of Ag and Ag-Cu were synthesized using polyol method. In order to prepare different nanostructures with the same synthesis route, thermodynamics and kinetic conditions of the system were manipulated. In the thermodynamics approach, the nanostructures with the minimum surface energy were obtained as the final product, while in kinetic approach, the nanostructures with the lower activation energy were formed. By using these appraoches, Ag and Ag-Cu spherical and cubical nanostructures were produced in the size range of 90-100 nm. Also, by manipulating the kinetic conditions of the system, silver nanowires with the diameters in the range of 100-200 nm and the length of several microns were obtained successfully. The effect of Cu ions (Cu2+) on aspect ratio of the synthesized silver nanowires by polyol method was evaluated.