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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

A Method to Fabricate Disconnected Silver Nanostructures in 3D
Published on: November 27, 2012
Nano-volcanic Eruption of Silver
Shih-Kang Lin1,2, Shijo Nagao3,4, Emi Yokoi3
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan.
Abstract:
Silver (Ag) is one of the seven metals of antiquity and an important engineering material in the electronic, medical, and chemical industries because of its unique noble and catalytic properties. Ag thin films are extensively used in modern electronics primarily because of their oxidation-resistance. Here we report a novel phenomenon of Ag nano-volcanic eruption that is caused by interactions between Ag and oxygen (O). It involves grain boundary liquation, the ejection of transient Ag-O fluids through grain boundaries, and the decomposition of Ag-O fluids into O2 gas and suspended Ag and Ag2O clusters. Subsequent coating with re-deposited Ag-O and the de-alloying of O yield a conformal amorphous Ag coating. Patterned Ag hillock arrays and direct Ag-to-Ag bonding can be formed by the homogenous crystallization of amorphous coatings. The Ag "nano-volcanic eruption" mechanism is elaborated, shedding light on a new mechanism of hillock formation and new applications of amorphous Ag coatings.
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