Investigation of materials used in synthesis for silver nanowires and nanoparticles

Transparent conductive films (TCFs) with high transmittance in the visible light band and excellent conductivity are widely applied in the panel industry, and also in electronic paper and related optical industries. In addition to the prevalent TCF indium tin oxide (ITO), there are new materials suitable for use as TCFs, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal meshes. In this study, the polyol method was used to synthesize silver nanowires (AgNWs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Silver seeds and silver ions were combined to obtain AgNWs. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphology of the AgNWs. The influence of properties of different materials used in synthesis on the morphology of AgNWs was investigated. The properties include molecular weight (MW) of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), the identity of the seed materials, and the source of the silver ions. The results show that a PVP MW of 1300000, AgCl as silver seeds, and AgNO₃ as the source of silver ions yield uniform AgNWs. The average length of the wires was 1.7 ± 0.3 μm, and the aspect ratio was 20.5 ± 1.0. The optical and electrical properties of thin films of AgNWs were analyzed. The transmittance of the thin films was 52%, and the sheet resistance was 55 MΩ/sq.