Three-dimensional self-assembly of Ag nanodisks in crystallography orientations by modified electrochemical deposition

Two-dimensional silver nanodisks were self-assembled in < 111 > crystallography orientations forming a three-dimensional architecture. The kinetics studies of interface growth reveal that the Cu2+ ion diffusion interface diminished the concentration convection and electric convection at the growing interface. With the fluctuation greatly reduced, the effect of lattice anisotropy of the growing interface starts to dominate, which induces highly faceted regular patterns with a stable growing interface. First-principles density functional theory calculations clarified that the silver patterns grow consistently with their thermodynamic character of the face-centered-cubic phase, and show the crystallographical orientation.