Facile route to preparation of plate-like silver powders

Silver nanoplates with thickness of tens of nanometres and widths in the range of 5-10 μm were successfully prepared employing a facile solution-based route based on the redox reaction between silver ions and ferrous ions. Furthermore, the influences of the mass ratio of reactants, surfactant concentration, reaction temperature and the type of surfactants on the morphologies of silver powders were carefully studied. The phase structure and morphology of silver powders are characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The mass ratio of reactants, concentration of surfactant, reaction temperature and the type of surfactants were crucial factors in determining the morphologies of the final products. The formation mechanism of silver nanoplates is preliminarily discussed.