Vapor-phase synthesis of single-crystalline Ag nanowires and their SERS properties

Single-crystalline Ag nanowires with a face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure were synthesized inside Ag/ZnO coaxial nanocables by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism through a thermal evaporation route. The confinement of the ZnO shell was believed to be responsible for the emergence of the single-crystalline phase. Ag nanowires with different diameters could be obtained by etching Ag/ZnO coaxial nanocables with modulated core-shell ratio determined by Ag concentration in the source. These high-quality silver nanowires were explored as sensitive substrates of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).