Oleate vesicle template route to silver nanowires

Silver nanowires with sizes of similar to 35 nm x 300 nm are synthesized in a lamellar liquid crystalline alignment of oleate vesicles via UV irradiation under ambient conditions. The passivation of oleate amphiphiles on the surface of silver nanoparticles is utilized for the nucleation and directional growth of silver nanowires. Increasing silver nanoparticle size leads to a strong red shifting of the surface plasmon absorption band from 395 to 500 nm. The proposed formation mechanism of silver nanowires and crosslinking processes are discussed.