Facile fabrication of silver nanoplates via a solvothermal method

This paper describes a simple solvothermal route to synthesize silver nanoplates by reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO₃) with N,N-dimethylformamide. In this approach, ferric chloride (FeCl₃) servers as the controlling agent, enabling the control over the concentration of free Ag⁺ ions in the solution. As the concentration of FeCl₃ added to the reaction was increased, the morphologies of silver nanostructures evolved from triangular silver nanoplates to hexagonal silver nanoplates. The structures of these nanoplates were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and electron diffraction. A possible mechanism is proposed to interpret the shape-controlled synthesis of silver nanostructures. Finally, our results suggest that this method provides a convenient way to prepare silver nanostructures with different morphologies.