Effect of temperature on the morphology of silver nanoparticles on Si substrate in the silver mirror reaction

The Ag nanospheres and Ag floccules were prepared on p-type Si substrate by a short-time silver mirror reaction without the introduction of stable agents and control-shaped seeds. In the short reaction time, the morphology of Ag nanoparticles could be influenced by the reaction temperature and the concentration of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺. The monodisperse Ag nanosphere were easily obtained under the lower growth rate induced by the lower concentration of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ or the lower temperature. The Ag floccules were synthesized in the solution with high concentration of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ at high temperature. The Ag nanoparticles on the Si substrate prepared by silver mirror reaction could be used directly to etch nanostructures on the Si substrate for the applications in solar cells.