Versatile Ag dendrites: simple galvanostatic deposition and applications

Large Ag dendrites were rapidly deposited via a facile electrochemical route at a deposition current of 20 mA for 10 min in air at room temperature, employing a mixed system of AgNO3 and NH3 center dot H2O as the electrolyte. The phase and morphology of the as-prepared product were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the original ammonia amount played a crucial role in the formation of Ag dendrites. Experiments showed that the as-deposited Ag dendrites exhibited versatile applications in some fields including super-SERS performance for the detection of rhodamine-6G, highly effective antimicrobial activities toward Escherichia coli and excellent catalytic capacities for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol.