Large-Scale Synthesis of Micrometer-Sized Silver Nanosheets

In this paper, we report on a facile and environmentally friendly large-scale synthesis of micrometer-sized silver nanosheets without the introduction of any seeds, polymers, surfactants, or sacrificial substrates. Through the addition of a small quantity of H2PdCl4, AgNO3 can easily be reduced by H2O2 in basic aqueous solution at room temperature and under normal pressure. The edge length of the silver nanosheets obtained may reach lateral dimensions of up to 10−15 μm in size and about 28 nm in thickness. Due to their large surface area, these micrometer-sized silver nanosheets may find potential applications as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, electrochemical surface plasmon resonance, metal-enhanced fluorescence, and scanning tunneling microscopy.