Controllable synthesis of silver nanowires via an organic cation‐mediated polyol method and their application as transparent electrode for touch screen

Abstract As an organic cation, quaternary ammonium salt was introduced as a control agent to synthesize silver nanowires. The important influence of quaternary ammonium salt on the preparation of silver nanowires was seriously investigated by varying the length of carbon chain and its amount. Results showed that using quaternary ammonium salt as the control agent can successfully control the growth of silver nanowires, of which the diameters ranging from 35.06 to 46.60 nm. The diameters of the as‐prepared silver nanowires tended to be smaller with a longer carbon chain. This work provides a new aspect for controllable preparation of silver nanowires. Furthermore, the as‐prepared silver nanowires were used to prepare transparent electrodes. They exhibited good optical performance with 95.6% transmittance at a low sheet resistance of 18 Ω/square, demonstrating their great potential in the application for touch screens.