Silver dendritic nanostructures formed at the solid/liquid interface via electroless deposition

Silver dendritic nanostructures and nanoplates were prepared at the solid/liquid interfaces via electroless deposition. Langmuir monolayers of 5,10,15,20-tetra-4-oxy(2-stearic acid) phenyl porphyrin (TSPP) and arachidic acid (AA) were formed at the air/AgNO3 aqueous solution interface. These nanostructures were produced when carbon-coated copper grids were covered on the Langmuir monolayers at lower (<20 °C) and higher (20-50 °C) temperature, respectively, and the branches are composed of parallel aligned nanobelts with their (110) face parallel to the interface. The formation of the nanostructures should be attributed to the galvanic reduction of Ag+ ions by copper, the electronic conductivity of the carbon layer, the templating effect of the Langmuir monolayer, and the non-equilibrium growth and aggregation of silver nanoparticles at the interface. This is a convenient avenue to produce metal nanostructures.