Preparation of nanocrystalline silver by the method of liquid-solid arc discharge combined with hydrothermal treatment

A technique of liquid–solid arc discharge combined with hydrothermal treatment in the presence of surfactant has been successfully developed to prepare nanocrystalline noble metallic Ag with an average particle size of about 10 nm. The products were characterized by adsorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and microscope photodensitometer measurements. The influence of preparation conditions on the size of Ag particles was investigated. The appearance of Ag nanowires in the process was observed.