Shape-directing role of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the preparation of silver nanoparticles

► Silver nanoparticles have been synthesized in water by using tyrosine. ► Pre-, post-, and dilution-micellar effects are responsible for the different morphology of silver nanoparticles. ► Absorbance of surface resonance plasmon band decreases with tyrosine concentrations. ► Size, shape, and anisotropy strongly depend on the adsorption of ions onto the different faces of particles.