Halide-Salt-Free Synthesis of Silver Nanowires with High Yield and Purity for Transparent Conductive Films

[Image: see text] To date, silver nanowires (AgNWs) are routinely synthesized. However, the controllable preparation of AgNWs without any halide salts has not reached a similar level. In particular, the halide-salt-free polyol synthesis of AgNWs commonly occurs above 413 K, and the property of AgNWs obtained is not so easy to control. In this study, a facile synthesis of AgNWs with a yield of up to ∼90% in an average length of 75 μm was successfully performed without any halide salts. The fabricated AgNW transparent conductive films (TCFs) show a transmittance of 81.7% (92.3% for the AgNW network only without substrate) at a sheet resistance of 12.25 Ω/square. In addition, the AgNW films show distinguished mechanical properties. More importantly, the reaction mechanism for AgNWs was briefly discussed, and the importance of reaction temperature, the mass ratio of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)/AgNO(3), and the atmosphere was emphasized. This knowledge will help enhance the reproducibility and scalability of polyol synthesis of high-quality AgNWs.