Growth aspects of photochemically synthesized silver triangular nanoplates

Aspects of the growth mechanism of silver triangular nanoplates by photochemical synthesis were addressed by detailed characterization using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, electron microscopies, and atomic force microscopy. The quantitative characterization of their size and thickness during the reaction showed that both increase with time as well as the aspect ratio. Samples irradiated by different wavelengths showed that the size of the nanoplates can be controlled by the incident wavelength and it is responsible for the increase of the aspect ratio, but the thickness seems to be determined by the conditions of the initial seeds. It was also found that irradiation with wavelength out of resonance with the surface plasmon of the initial seeds leads to a slower kinetics. The results suggested that rational exploration of the synthesis parameter such as the type of the initial seeds in combination with the wavelength irradiation may lead to a broader type of particles already obtained by this method.