Complementary Reducing Agents are Responsible for Temporally Distinct Nucleation and Growth Phases during the Polyol Synthesis of Ag Nanocubes.

Ethylene glycol or one of its oxidation products are believed to serve as reducing agents in the shape-controlled synthesis of Ag nanocubes (NCs) by the polyol process. The identity of end-groups of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) impacts shape control with alcohol and aldehyde moieties serving as a primary Ag reducing agent. We explored the role of PVP end-groups in the polyol process by measuring the dependence of particle number density of Ag NCs produced on the initial concentration(s) of Ag and PVP using small angle x-ray scattering and statistically large particle size distributions analyzed by scanning electron microscopy.