Silver nanorods and nanowires have been synthesized by using a microwave (MW)-polyol method. When AgNO3
was reduced by ethylene glycol (EG) in the presence of Pt seeds and a long chain length of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP: Mw =
360 k), mixtures of one-dimensional (1-D) silver nanorods and nanowires and three-dimensional (3-D) spherical, triangular-bipyramidal,
and cubic nanoparticles were synthesized within a few minutes. The average diameters, lengths, and yields of these products were
measured as a function of concentration of Pt, PVP, or AgNO3, heating time, or MW power to determine optimum conditions for
the synthesis of 1-D products. 1-D products could be easily separated from other 3-D nanoparticles by repeating centrifugal separation
in water. Longer and thicker 1-D products could be prepared by using 1-D products as seeds and repeating the reduction of AgNO3
in EG under MW irradiation. In this two-step preparation, some bent 1-D wires due to the combination of {111} facets of two rods
and wires were produced. Possible growth mechanisms of 1-D products involving bent structures, and 3-D spherical, triangular-bipyramidal, and cubic nanoparticles were discussed by reference to growth mechanisms of Au core-Ag shell nanocrystals prepared
using the two-step MW polyol method.
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