Effects of chloride ions and poly (vinyl- pyrrolidone) on morphology of silver particles in solvothermal process

Silver particles with various morphologies including cubic, spherical, and rod-shaped have been synthesized by a facile solvothermal procedure using poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as an adsorption agent and architecture soft template. Preparation conditions such as the molar ratio and concentration of starting materials were optimized for studying the growth kinetics of silver particles. The amount of chloride ions and PVP plays an important role for the morphology of silver particles during synthesis. Chloride ions as a stabilizer against the aggregation of particles could sufficiently retard particle growth. The selected bounding of PVP molecules on the silver particle is a key for morphological controlling. The morphological evolution of the silver particle was investigated by adjusting systematically preparation parameters. Because of PVP molecules are easily bounded to the (100) facet of silver crystals, the growth of the silver particle occurred around (111) plane. Silver particl