Growth of silver nanowires by an unconventional electrodeposition without template

We describe an unconventional electrochemistry approach to the preparation of silver nanowires. By the electrodeposition in the dilute solution without supporting electrolyte, silver nanowires with diameter 10–50 nm and length up to several μm have been synthesized. It was found that the absence of the supporting electrolyte played a key role in the formation of silver nanowires, and the products from the solution without supporting electrolytes were very different from those with supporting electrolytes. A possible mechanism concerning the transportation of silver ions by electro-migration and the diffusion was proposed.