Green, one-step and template-free synthesis of silver spongelike networks via a solvothermal method

Silver spongelike networks were synthesized from an alkaline pH solution of silver nitrate and glucose under solvothermal conditions. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, UV–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. These Ag nanoparticles (NPs) appear to undergo sequentially linear aggregation and welding initially, and then, they randomly cross link into self-supporting, three-dimensional (3D) networks with time. The carboxylate groups, generated by glucose oxidation, interacted with the Ag nanostructures, resulting in formation of silver spongelike networks having very uniform wire diameters distributions (about 20 nm in diameter). A new plasmon band was observed in the longer-wavelengths region (565–912 nm) of the conventional transverse plasmon resonance band at 430 nm. In principle, this one-step, template-free approach can also be extended to large-scale 3D organizations of other transition/noble metal NPs.