Effect of Ag Templates on the Formation of Au-Ag Hollow/Core-Shell Nanostructures

Au-Ag alloy nanostructures with various shapes were synthesized using a successive reduction method in this study. By means of galvanic replacement, twined Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and single-crystalline Ag nanowires (NWs) were adopted as templates, respectively, and alloyed with the same amount of Au(+) ions. High angle annular dark field-scanning TEM (HAADF-STEM) images observed from different rotation angles confirm that Ag NPs turned into AuAg alloy rings with an Au/Ag ratio of 1. The shifts of surface plasmon resonance and chemical composition reveal the evolution of the alloy ring formation. On the other hand, single-crystalline Ag NWs became Ag@AuAg core-shell wires instead of hollow nanostructure through a process of galvanic replacement. It is proposed that in addition to the ratio of Ag templates and Au ion additives, the twin boundaries of the Ag templates were the dominating factor causing hollow alloy nanostructures.