Stirring-assisted orientation of silver nanowires in sol-gel silica.

Highlights • Stirring assisted sol-gel method is used to insert Ag nanowires in a silica matrix. • The Ag nanowires are aligned in the silica matrix, parallel to the stirring direction. • The aligned silver nanowires in silica matrix show light polarizing properties. • Ag nanowires aligned in silica composite is promising for use as polarizer. Abstract One-directional alignment of Ag nanowires (AgNWs) embedded in silica matrix was achieved by means of the sol-gel fabrication process by stirring the precursor solution consisting of tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) and AgNW during gelation. The parallel orientation of AgNWs along the stirring direction was confirmed in the sliced composite by optical microscopy. The optical function of the obtained composite as polarizer was demonstrated by transmission measurement with polarized light. The polarization response was found to be limited and can be explained with the buckling of AgNWs formed during the condensation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]