Recent research progress on preparation of silver nanowires by soft solution method and their applications

Owing to the unique and tunable optical, plasmonic and electrical properties of silver nanowires, they are widely used as the templates for the preparation of Au or Pt nanotubes, as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and detectors for some chemicals. Soft solution method is a facile and effective method for the preparation of silver nanowires with well-controlled morphology and uniform size. By this approach, silver nanowires can be readily prepared with mild reaction condition, general materials available and facile procedure. This review concentrates on the preparation of silver nanowires via various soft solution methods and their applications in the formation of metallic nanotubes, SERS and detection for some chemicals. (C) 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim