The morphologies of the prepared silver samples were observed

by transmission electron microscopy (TEM; JEM-2100, JEOL Ltd., Akishima, Tokyo, Japan) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM; SIRION, Durham, NH, USA). FT-IR analysis was conducted on the FT-IR spectrum (NICOLET 5700, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). UV-visible near-infrared (NOR) Rapamycin spectra were recorded by a fiber-optic spectrometer (PG2000, Ideaoptics Technology Ltd., Shanghai, People’s Republic of China). Results and discussion Morphology characterization The experimental results shown in Figure 1 indicate that the MW of PVP plays a key role in the shape control of silver nanocrystals. Figure 1 shows a series of silver nanocrystals prepared in the presence of PVP with different MWs. The inset pictures were taken in a dark room under the exposure of white LED panel light from the bottom

which is similar to natural check details light having a wide spectral range. Different colors of silver colloids corresponding to different morphologies can be observed easily. Figure 1a presents the rodlike silver nanostructures synthesized using PVPMW=8,000. As shown in Figure 1a, two or more silver nanorods are melded together randomly in several types such as end-to-end, end-to-side, or parallel nanojoint, which has potential applications in nanocircuits [27]. Such typical morphology corresponds to the white color colloids that can be seen from the photograph in the inset of Figure 1a. When PVPMW=29,000 was used, a generation of bright yellow-green colloids was observed as shown in the inset of Figure 1b. The SEM image indicates that such color corresponds to the formation of AC220 manufacturer high-yield silver nanospheres with uniform size around 60 nm [28]. Apparently, it provides a facile method for the synthesis of monodisperse silver nanospheres with high uniformity using PVPMW=29,000. Colloids in the inset of Figure 1c appear to be a muddy and dark yellow color when PVPMW=40,000 was

used which is similar to that of the inset in Figure 1b. The reason is that the two colloids both have absorption of blue light shown in extinction spectra 4��8C which will be discussed in the next Section. A large number of nanoparticles and a small amount of nanowires are observed in Figure 1c. However, the morphologies of silver nanoparticles are irregular and the sizes are nonuniform. It indicates that monodisperse silver particles with uniform shape and size can be hardly obtained when PVPMW=40,000 was used as a capping agent in the current synthesis process. When PVPMW=1,300,000 was used, it can be seen clearly that high-yield (>90 %) silver nanowires were obtained, as shown in Figure 1d. The color of silver colloids is yellowish white, similar to the highly purified silver nanowire colloids obtained after cross-flow filtration [23].